Expert Teams To Visit Puri On Sept 5 To Inspect Coastline Erosion Near Swargadwar

Puri: Two teams of experts from National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) will visit Puri on Wednesday to examine the coastal erosion.

During those two days, it will inspect and find the reasons for soil erosion near Swargadwar and Banki Muhana (Estuary), besides suggesting permanent solution.

The team will also visit Ramachandi, Rajnagar in Kendrapara and other districts.

According to the sources, after supervising the situation, the team of senior experts from NIOT will give their opinion on the proposed 14-crore project.

The Irrigation Department has prepared an estimate of Rs 14 crore to tackle the coastal erosion. It will prepare a detailed project report (DPR) in this regard after consulting the experts, the sources added.

The team includes Dr MV Ramanujan Murty, Satyakiran Raju, Arun Kumar Aluwallia and Oceanographer PK Panigrahi.

The following day, Manikanta, Isak Ranjan, Arun Kumar and Mulari Saha from National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management will verify the situation.

Notably, panic gripped Puri denizens after tidal waves eroded the shoreline near Swargadwar. The landward displacement of the shore has been a major challenge here.

The temporary shops on the beach have also been washed away by giant tidal waves, which have also reached the roads near the Puri sea beach, threatening the livelihood of the shopkeepers.

Tourists also got alarmed due to the soil erosion. Following the 10 feet erosion, the district administration ‘red flagged’ many spots restricting the entry of tourists.

The beach is being gradually eroded by the surging sea waves since past some days. An Irrigation Department executive engineer said that the denizens of Puri faced the same problem in 2007 and then again in 2016.

Experts from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, had earlier advised the government to put in place geo-synthetic sand tubes along the Puri beach to protect its shoreline from erosion.