Ponnani: A sandbar, which has formed at the Ponnani estuary after the recent flood, has become a sensation as the sea has virtually split in two parts.
Hundreds of people pour in every day to watch the sight.
The floodwaters brought the sand from the Bharathapuzha and deposited across the sea. The sandbar has formed in about half a kilometre, and provides a walkway into the sea from the wall built to check erosion.
The harbour engineering section has warned visitors to keep off the sea during high tide as the sandbar could erode then.
A sandbar is a long raised area of sand, often found below the surface of the water at places where where a river joins the sea. It is formed by moving currents.
Further south inland, several sandbanks have been created along the Periyar river at Kothamangalam, Kalady and Perumbavoor. Tons of sand have been deposited at Anakkayam near Kuttampuzha where the Idamalayar and Pooyamkutti rivers merge.
There are sandbanks along the river near Aluva, Neriamangalam, Injathotti, Thattekkad, Kuttampuzha and Palamattam areas of Ernakulam district.
Many sandbanks have come up on the stretch between Bhoothathankettu to Neriamangalam. The largest among them is a kilometre-long island under the Neriamangalam bridge.
The sandbar below the Neriamangalam bridge is also drawing in hordes of travellers. Many people come to spent the morning and evenings on the beach. Children frolic on the beach while the elders gossip among themselves.
