Work on the second phase of Chellanam’s tetrapod sea wall in Kerala will begin this month, with the inauguration scheduled for the 31st, according to Muhammad Shiyas MLA. The project will cover a 6.1-kilometre stretch from Puthenthode to Manassery and has received a government allocation of Rs 404 crore.
Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan is expected to inaugurate the construction, the MLA said. The Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation will serve as the implementing agency, while the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society has been assigned responsibility for construction. Company officials have already begun preliminary work, according to the report.
The second phase will extend the coastal protection system beyond the first phase, which covers 7.35 kilometres from Chellanam to Puthenthode. That earlier stretch was also built under the leadership of the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society. The new work is intended to strengthen protection along another section of the vulnerable coastline.
The project extends beyond the construction of the tetrapod wall. The scope includes renovation of the sea wall, construction of a walkway, painting and increasing the height of the bazaar groynes built during the first phase. These components combine coastal defence with improvements to public access and the condition of existing infrastructure.
The Rs 404 crore allocation for the second phase was made by the previous government. However, the start of construction was delayed because technical approval was not issued in time. A decision to award the work to the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society had already been taken, and the government has now decided to continue with that arrangement, Muhammad Shiyas said.
The government has directed the Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation to begin the work quickly and complete it within the stipulated schedule, according to the MLA. The project is being implemented through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board system, under which the first-phase tetrapod wall was also constructed.
The second phase had faced uncertainty because of concerns over the future of the KIIFB system, the report said. The government has nevertheless decided to complete the project through the same system. The scheduled inauguration and the start of preliminary work mark the next formal step in extending Chellanam’s coastal protection infrastructure from Puthenthode towards Manassery.
