Cochin Port urged to stop selling sand dredged from shipping channel
The Hindu
Deposit material along Chellanam coast, says Janakiya Vedhi
The Cochin Port Trust must end the business of selling sand from the material dredged out of the port shipping channel, and deposit the dredged material along the Chellanam coast to help beach accretion and reduce the depth of the nearshore waters, said Chellanam Kochi Janakiya Vedhi, a combine of people in the coastal village demanding comprehensive steps to protect the coastal segment between Chellanam and Fort Kochi.
A statement issued by V.T. Sebastian of the Janakiya Vedhi said the Cochin Port authorities themselves had admitted to having sold sand from dredged materials worth ₹12 crore between April and December period.
The money earned from selling sand is the reward for dumping the people of Chellanam at the doors of a disaster, and the political leadership and people’s representatives must intervene in the matter, said the appeal by Mariamma George Kurisinkal and Joseph Jayan Kunnel, leaders of the Janakiya Vedhi here.
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