Kerala is a well known sea faring post. From ancient historical times, Kerala had far flung trade with some of the ancient markets of the world. ‘Muziris’ (present Kodungallur) was one of the greatest ports of the Orient, well known to sea voyagers. There was an ecological change which made the old Ports fade while the new ones took their place. The flood of the Periyar in 1341 AD resulted in the splitting of the river into two tributaries at Thottummukham. That silted up the natural harbour at the mouth of the Periyar and resulted in the creation of a new harbour at Cochin. This opening of the sea thus giving direct access to the interior made experts realize that the possibility of opening this vast backwater to the sea which would become the most sheltered form in the east and is of such a size that it could accommodate the whole of the navies of the world. However, after a lapse of 579 years, a British engineer by name Sir Robert Bristow (1888-1966), after a ten-year strenuous crusade (in 1929}, created the modern Cochin Port. It was he, by his intricate knowledge of harbour Engineering overcame the difficulties by first dredging of a channel 12,000 ft long in the open sea through a formidable bar of heavy sand which has been pounded by successive monsoons into a rock like formation; and second, the protection of the low-lying spits of randy beach which form the natural break-waters to the harbour and upon which the Sea had been slowly encroaching for many years. Bristow succeeded in stopping the long and continued erosion on the fore-shores. He stopped the erosion in Vypeen Island which formed a sort of wall protecting the mainland and the backwater area. He succeeded in constructing stone groyne parallel to the fore-shore. The channel was maintained in navigable condition always.
Kerala is said to have created out of the blue by Parasurama, who threw his all powerful into the Sea at Gokarna, after the land of Kerala submerged into waters after Mahabali was pushed into the Padala by Vamana, one of the ten incarnations of Vishnu. But the geological fact that parts of Kerala were once upon a time, sea, is collaborated by evidences based on the study of the littoral sediments.
The beautiful beaches of Fort Kochin are old fable. From Chellanam to Fort Kochi, there is neither coast nor a beach line. According to elders, Fort Kochi coastline was 80 Kms long. Some of these elders vouch that they have traveled by foot across the sands of the beach from Fort Kochi to Challanam in the yester years. In the Fort Kochi beach, Mahatma Gandhi had addressed thousands of people. Along the water edge of Fort Cochin, on the narrow pass-way to the harbour, are a line of Chinese fishing nets, the first virtual symbol of ancient trade and age old shared influences. Today, they are in deep water. Near Saudi Fort Kochin, there were around dozen houses which stood on the shores, at least quarter mile into the mainland. Today, most the of the houses are in Water, even though there are many who pay Property tax for houses which have been devoured by the Sea. According to people of the area, the Sea was slowly encroaching on the beach sands over a long period of time. No body has bothered to evaluate the erosion, and no body worries about any steps to prevent sea erosion. Every time, due to Sea erosion, valuable land has been lost. Even a church, Mannasheri Church, has been displaced so many times, yet the danger lurks.
The people of the area demand that instead of putting granite stones on the beaches to prevent sea erosion, it would be better to build ‘gronium’ (or strong groyne like that was done by Bristow) to remove seepage, sea erosion, and breaches in the barricades to prevent gushing water which would inundate the lands situated adjoining the Sea coast. They attribute this soil erosion which has become ferocious for the last two decades, due to reclamation of land at Vallarpadam, Bolghatty, and across the Marine drive. Unscientific dredging has been a culprit, as the withdrawal of bar of heavy sand that is pulled by the sea currents to deepen the depth of the channel, has been responsible for nature’s fury. Cochin Port Trust is said to have conducted seismic studies, and the report has found nothing wrong. National Institute of Oceanography is conducting another study. But reclamation of land from backwaters or Sea would cause Sea erosion. There are examples to that effect.
There have been various suggestions to prevent sea erosion. The most effective method is to construct a wall of 'Rock Armour' across the coast. However, this method is very expensive and difficult to place. It consists of a 'wall' of large quarried rocks that stretch across a coastline. A more affordable method is to place a series of 'Groynes' across a beach to prevent Longshore Drift, ensuring that the sand on a beach does not get swept away to a single side of a beach. These 'Groynes' resemble fences that run down a beach to the sea. Groynes are structures that prevent erosion by limiting water flow and sediment movement. They're usually built perpendicular to the shore, and may or not be submerged.
Another way is similar to the Rock Armour, but is however constructed of wood. These is much cheaper, but much less reliant and is notorious for being destroyed in large storms.
Coastal erosion is a huge problem. You might be asking yourself why you should be worried about the condition of some beach, but in truth it does have an impact on the economy that you might not have even though of. Did you know that people live along coastlines mostly for the beaches? With the threat of coastal erosion, many people may end up moving elsewhere, which will cause a downfall of that particular area. That's why it is so important to make sure coastal erosion is stopped in its tracks.
Breakers can be placed in the water at certain points to slow down the waves. Naturally this isn't going to stop the erosion, but it will slow it down. The one problem with this method is that you will absolutely need to obtain a permit from the state before you begin. If you do not, then you may end up with some serious legal trouble on your hands.
A living shoreline is always going to help. Make sure you plant plenty of seaweed and create an environment that sea creatures will be attracted to. More life means less chance of erosion, which is exactly what you're going for. A new technique, living shorelines are coasts in which shellfish have been planted. The shells attract aquatic life, which prevents erosion naturally. Nature itself is a solution to mend eroded coastlines. Planting tones of oyster shells to form angular breakwater, will draw aquatic life drawn to shells can create’ Living shoreline’ preventing coastal erosion. Young fish that move into it. Oyster shells placed in brackish waters with good tide flow will become rapidly colonized by a multitude of marine critters, including oysters, algae, worms, barnacles, crabs, small minnows and fish. Living shorelines are the best way to stop sea erosion. Change in mindset is slow to come. However, living shorelines generally don’t work in deep sea water where you have significant drop right at the shoreline.
Beach nourishment is a great option for stopping erosion. The best thing you can do is transplant sand from other areas. In some cases you will be able to purchase sand in bulk, which is a great way to keep your beach looking nice and healthy.
Wind breaks are always a good idea. These can be small fences that you set back from the beach a little bit. More than likely you've seen these somewhere before, probably at one of the more popular beaches. "Bay of Balos" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Wolfgang Staudt (Wolfgang Staudt) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
Sea walls, which run parallel to the coast, are one of the most common responses to coastal erosion. They stabilize the beach, but they shift the problem to an adjacent part of the coast.
Planting vegetation such as trees defends the coastline. An advantage to this technique is that trees regenerate themselves. Offshore breakwaters are submerged structures that parallel the shore. They absorb wave energy and serve as artificial reefs for marine life. These are rock formations built to protect dunes. They're inexpensive and they last up to five years.
The apathy of authorities invites nothing but condemnation. The Corporation of Cochin cannot sit unconcerned, for it is responsible for providing civic amenities as mandated. The Cochin Port Trust cannot wash off its hands saying its Reports had given a clean chit. Any Report submitted which endangers environment is subject to public scrutiny, and an income making body like CPT cannot shirk responsibility.
The GCDA which reclaimed the land from the backwaters is liable to shoulder the cost, as it got millions of Rupees by selling the lands. Is it not liable to pay for the nature’s fury caused by its unscientific leveling of land or reclaiming land from the Sea. The Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt of India, must appoint an Independent Consultant to assess the damage to ecology, and fix responsibility on bodies who were responsible for causing this ecological injury and foot the bill for repairing the gaps so that sea erosion can be arrested partially, if not wholly. Fort Kochi breathes the life of past history. It has been declared as a ‘heritage zone’. We always lock the stable after the horse is stolen like Bhopal. But at Fort Kochi, better late than never.
Kerala is said to have created out of the blue by Parasurama, who threw his all powerful into the Sea at Gokarna, after the land of Kerala submerged into waters after Mahabali was pushed into the Padala by Vamana, one of the ten incarnations of Vishnu. But the geological fact that parts of Kerala were once upon a time, sea, is collaborated by evidences based on the study of the littoral sediments.
The beautiful beaches of Fort Kochin are old fable. From Chellanam to Fort Kochi, there is neither coast nor a beach line. According to elders, Fort Kochi coastline was 80 Kms long. Some of these elders vouch that they have traveled by foot across the sands of the beach from Fort Kochi to Challanam in the yester years. In the Fort Kochi beach, Mahatma Gandhi had addressed thousands of people. Along the water edge of Fort Cochin, on the narrow pass-way to the harbour, are a line of Chinese fishing nets, the first virtual symbol of ancient trade and age old shared influences. Today, they are in deep water. Near Saudi Fort Kochin, there were around dozen houses which stood on the shores, at least quarter mile into the mainland. Today, most the of the houses are in Water, even though there are many who pay Property tax for houses which have been devoured by the Sea. According to people of the area, the Sea was slowly encroaching on the beach sands over a long period of time. No body has bothered to evaluate the erosion, and no body worries about any steps to prevent sea erosion. Every time, due to Sea erosion, valuable land has been lost. Even a church, Mannasheri Church, has been displaced so many times, yet the danger lurks.
The people of the area demand that instead of putting granite stones on the beaches to prevent sea erosion, it would be better to build ‘gronium’ (or strong groyne like that was done by Bristow) to remove seepage, sea erosion, and breaches in the barricades to prevent gushing water which would inundate the lands situated adjoining the Sea coast. They attribute this soil erosion which has become ferocious for the last two decades, due to reclamation of land at Vallarpadam, Bolghatty, and across the Marine drive. Unscientific dredging has been a culprit, as the withdrawal of bar of heavy sand that is pulled by the sea currents to deepen the depth of the channel, has been responsible for nature’s fury. Cochin Port Trust is said to have conducted seismic studies, and the report has found nothing wrong. National Institute of Oceanography is conducting another study. But reclamation of land from backwaters or Sea would cause Sea erosion. There are examples to that effect.
There have been various suggestions to prevent sea erosion. The most effective method is to construct a wall of 'Rock Armour' across the coast. However, this method is very expensive and difficult to place. It consists of a 'wall' of large quarried rocks that stretch across a coastline. A more affordable method is to place a series of 'Groynes' across a beach to prevent Longshore Drift, ensuring that the sand on a beach does not get swept away to a single side of a beach. These 'Groynes' resemble fences that run down a beach to the sea. Groynes are structures that prevent erosion by limiting water flow and sediment movement. They're usually built perpendicular to the shore, and may or not be submerged.
Another way is similar to the Rock Armour, but is however constructed of wood. These is much cheaper, but much less reliant and is notorious for being destroyed in large storms.
Coastal erosion is a huge problem. You might be asking yourself why you should be worried about the condition of some beach, but in truth it does have an impact on the economy that you might not have even though of. Did you know that people live along coastlines mostly for the beaches? With the threat of coastal erosion, many people may end up moving elsewhere, which will cause a downfall of that particular area. That's why it is so important to make sure coastal erosion is stopped in its tracks.
Breakers can be placed in the water at certain points to slow down the waves. Naturally this isn't going to stop the erosion, but it will slow it down. The one problem with this method is that you will absolutely need to obtain a permit from the state before you begin. If you do not, then you may end up with some serious legal trouble on your hands.
A living shoreline is always going to help. Make sure you plant plenty of seaweed and create an environment that sea creatures will be attracted to. More life means less chance of erosion, which is exactly what you're going for. A new technique, living shorelines are coasts in which shellfish have been planted. The shells attract aquatic life, which prevents erosion naturally. Nature itself is a solution to mend eroded coastlines. Planting tones of oyster shells to form angular breakwater, will draw aquatic life drawn to shells can create’ Living shoreline’ preventing coastal erosion. Young fish that move into it. Oyster shells placed in brackish waters with good tide flow will become rapidly colonized by a multitude of marine critters, including oysters, algae, worms, barnacles, crabs, small minnows and fish. Living shorelines are the best way to stop sea erosion. Change in mindset is slow to come. However, living shorelines generally don’t work in deep sea water where you have significant drop right at the shoreline.
Beach nourishment is a great option for stopping erosion. The best thing you can do is transplant sand from other areas. In some cases you will be able to purchase sand in bulk, which is a great way to keep your beach looking nice and healthy.
Wind breaks are always a good idea. These can be small fences that you set back from the beach a little bit. More than likely you've seen these somewhere before, probably at one of the more popular beaches. "Bay of Balos" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Wolfgang Staudt (Wolfgang Staudt) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
Sea walls, which run parallel to the coast, are one of the most common responses to coastal erosion. They stabilize the beach, but they shift the problem to an adjacent part of the coast.
Planting vegetation such as trees defends the coastline. An advantage to this technique is that trees regenerate themselves. Offshore breakwaters are submerged structures that parallel the shore. They absorb wave energy and serve as artificial reefs for marine life. These are rock formations built to protect dunes. They're inexpensive and they last up to five years.
The apathy of authorities invites nothing but condemnation. The Corporation of Cochin cannot sit unconcerned, for it is responsible for providing civic amenities as mandated. The Cochin Port Trust cannot wash off its hands saying its Reports had given a clean chit. Any Report submitted which endangers environment is subject to public scrutiny, and an income making body like CPT cannot shirk responsibility.
The GCDA which reclaimed the land from the backwaters is liable to shoulder the cost, as it got millions of Rupees by selling the lands. Is it not liable to pay for the nature’s fury caused by its unscientific leveling of land or reclaiming land from the Sea. The Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt of India, must appoint an Independent Consultant to assess the damage to ecology, and fix responsibility on bodies who were responsible for causing this ecological injury and foot the bill for repairing the gaps so that sea erosion can be arrested partially, if not wholly. Fort Kochi breathes the life of past history. It has been declared as a ‘heritage zone’. We always lock the stable after the horse is stolen like Bhopal. But at Fort Kochi, better late than never.
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