Pudukuppam residents grapple with sea erosion

Groundwater aquifers have started turning saline and fisherfolk and farmers have been losing land, what with the construction of a groyne at Thazhanguda in Cuddalore district

For the past few months, residents of Pudukuppam, a coastal hamlet in Puducherry, have been facing the brunt of sea erosion. The groundwater aquifers have started turning saline and fisherfolk and farmers have been losing land to the sea, what with the construction of a groyne at Thazhanguda, a coastal hamlet in the neighbouring Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu, say environmentalists.

While strong waves have been lashing the coast for some time, the situation has worsened recently with seawater entering houses and damaging structures along the coastline. This has endangered the lives of residents, especially the fishermen, said a Pudukuppam resident.

According to V. Chandrasekhar, president of Bangaru Vaickal Neeradhara Kootamaippu, a water-users’ association, “Habitations in Pudukuppam have been facing the brunt of erosion due to dumping of boulders by the Cuddalore district administration at Thazhanguda. The construction of a fishing harbour at Thazhanguda has disrupted the littoral drift, resulting in rampant erosion and ingression of seawater.”

He added, “Beaches north of Puducherry have eroded because of the Puducherry port. Now, the fishing harbour at Thazhanguda is bound to do the same, causing erosion of sand dunes and ingression of seawater into the coastal aquifers.”

According to Aurofilio Schiavina, an expert in coastal management and member of PondyCan, a civil society organisation, “The groyne is bound to cause coastal erosion south of Puducherry. The fishermen, presumably those from the mechanised sector, are unfortunately looking at their own interest. This doesn’t serve the larger public, environmental and economic interests. It is also not serving the interests of the artisanal fishermen who depend on the beaches.”

The tourism sector of Puducherry should also be worried because there are several beach resorts to the south of Puducherry that are likely to get affected. But the erosion caused by the groyne is not irreversible. The Tamil Nadu government should ensure that the sand is bypassed around the groyne. The eroding beaches in Puducherry should be nourished and stabilised. This will allow everybody to enjoy the benefits of the groyne and of the beaches, Mr. Schiavina said.

According to Probir Banerjee, member of PondyCan, “The construction of the groyne is also in violation of a recent order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had directed all the States and the Union Territories not to raise hard structures for controlling erosion, as they cause an adverse impact upstream or downstream. The structure will transfer the erosion, and the impact would be very severe on the adjacent coast.”