Alice's living-room window opened up to a fascinating sea view once upon a time. Watching white foamy waves caressing rocky seawalls was a delight.
Now, these are akin to nightmares for Alice, one of the hundreds forced to abandon their homes at Kochuthoppu in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district after huge waves wreaked havoc.
Ferocious waves crashed over the sea walls and ripped apart the floor and the wall of Alice’s house, hours after they moved to safety.
Now, the spot where Alice's living-room window opened up to the marvellous sea view has been replaced by a big hole.
Sea erosion has been affecting the lives of fishers, who were hailed as Kerala's superheroes after they saved thousands of people hit by the Century's worst-floods in August 2018. They are familiar with the seasonal tidal waves, but what scares them now most is the ferocious waves.
Sea erosion is a major issue in beaches along Kerala’s 580-km coastline. Major erosion happens during the south west monsoon months of May-September, and minor erosion during the north east monsoon in December and January. High energy storm waves move away sediment and soil from the shore during this time. When monsoon is over, low energy waves bring back the eroded sediment and soil. This cyclical process of erosion and accretion ensures that beaches remain intact. But the sea no longer returns the sediments when the sea turns ferocious, and it narrows width of the beach.
They feel the authorities are dealing with the issue unscientifically.
Building seawalls using boulders, long stretches of sea bridges and the construction of Rs 7,500 crore deep-water multi-purpose sea port at Vizhinjam are altering the character of the sea and its waves, they say.
Most of these construction activities are being done without studying the nature of the sea, said Benjamin of the NGO Coastal Watch.
“Coastal erosion of this magnitude started in Poonthura, Periyathura and Anchuthengu after the construction of Vizhinjam harbour in the 1960s,” he said.
According to Benjamin, the harbour stopped the natural flow of the sea and altered the natural cyclical process of erosion and accretion.
“The sea here flows from north to south during the monsoons, depositing the sand in the southern coastal areas. In the next nine months after that, the sea would flow in the opposite direction depositing the sand back from where it was taken. But the harbour became a blockade to this movement,” he said.
The sandy beaches of Adimalathura and Pulluvila would vouch for this. These areas did not have beaches earlier. “The sea used to be as close as the Highway there,” said Benjamin.
If a harbour could bring in such devastating changes, then what would happen when the port construction is completed, asked fisher people.
They fear that the impact of the breakwater construction for the port would adversely affect the northern coasts. Breakwater is constructed to tame the waves and ensure tranquil waters in the port.
“They have only constructed approximately 350 to 500 meters of the 3km-long breakwater. If this itself is causing such destruction, what would be the situation once they complete the entire stretch,” asked Jackson Thumbakkaran, a fisherman and a social activist.
'Inadequate government help'
Jackson, who coordinated the rescue operations from Anchuthengu region during the August floods in 2018, said government agencies are not doing enough for the community.
“The authorities had blamed fishermen when their rescue operations failed during Cyclone Ockhi. They said none of our boats installed search and rescue beacons issued by them,” he said.
Fishermen were asked to use the Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), supported by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which could enhance search and rescue operations in the sea. But fishers using small fibre boats stopped using it after a few false alarms. The beacon would activate when it comes in contact with water. However, sea water enters the fibre boats so often, and it results in the beacon activation.
Fisher people allege that government officials do not understand their fishing methods.
“People who have no experience are being appointed in Fisheries and Marine Enforcement. The results of it cane be seen in their actions. They blindly implement new schemes without even studying whether it will suit our conditions,” said Robin, a fisherman who coordinated rescue operations from Puthiyathura during the floods. They also complain about the functioning of Coast Guard and Marine Police.
The fishermen say that Cyclone Ockhi that claimed over 80 lives in the state had exposed the inefficiency of the government departments. Fishers claim that over 140 fishermen, who ventured into sea during Ockhi, are still missing.
According to government records, Ockhi had killed 143 fishermen in Kerala. Only 52 bodies could be recovered, while the remaining 91 missing fishermen were declared dead.
Regular warnings
In the wake of Ockhi, fishermen have been getting repeated alerts forbidding them from venturing out into the sea, even at the slightest atmospheric changes.
“These warnings only add to our hunger. These people have no means of livelihood other than fishing,” said Jackson.
Fishers go out to the sea out of sheer desperation when the warnings are in place. “The authorities issue warnings for four to five days during the peak fishing season. We cannot afford to do that. We will starve to death,” said a fisherman from Anchuthengu.
“During the season, boats go out in pair. This would help us catch fish worth up to Rs 3 lakh a day, which would fetch each of us Rs 12,000-Rs 15,000 a day. But it has to be done before the mechanised boats enter the water after the ban is lifted. Once they are in, there won’t be anything left for us,” he added.
It was during one such season in August 2018 that these fishermen got to know about the rising water level in different parts of Kerala. But they did not think twice before offering their equipment and service for rescuing those stranded in the floods.
“Flood has done something good. It has brought people from different walks of life closer to us. The system has not changed, but the perception of the society towards us has changed,” said Robin.
And as the waves continue to eat into the state's coastline and recurring floods wreak havoc in Kerala, the fisherfolk, who are battling livelihood issues, still vow to come to the rescue of their fellow countrymen if need arises.
