Kochi News: Authorities have finally begun work on the tetrapod seawall

The much-awaited seawall building project at Chellanam seaside town has finally begun, with authorities casting the tetrapods, a tetrahedral concrete structure designed to diffuse the force of incoming waves, at a temporary plant put up at Kannamaly.

The project contractor Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society Ltd (ULCCS) began work on the site camp set up at Kannamaly on January 25, and the casting began on January 25.

ULCCS has established a presence in Chellanam, and work on the weighbridges, which are used to weigh tetrapods and stone loads, is progressing.

Authorities have begun constructing a walkway down the coast to facilitate the transportation of construction materials. In addition, work on building marker stones to demarcate the project area has begun.

In addition, an 11-member project management unit (PMU) managed by an executive engineer has been developed by the irrigation department.According to sources with the Kerala irrigation infrastructure development company (KIIDC), the body in charge of the project's implementation, roughly 15 tetrapods are produced per day, with the capacity increasing to 500 per day in later stages based on the project's progress. Molds for casting a large number of tetrapods will be delivered.

"All project-related work will be monitored by the PMU. ULCSS has partnered with a number of quarries to assure a steady supply of stones. The government wants to finish the project as quickly as possible because the coast is prone to sea erosion and the next monsoon could flood many homes. Despite the project's 18-month duration, ULCSS estimates that it will be completed in 13 months "According to a KIIDC official.

In the first phase, the seawall will be built between CP stones 986 and C for a length of almost seven kilometres. The surveying and taking of measurements for the seawall has begun.

Residents are also excited now that construction has begun, as they believe the project as the last chance to adopt a complete solution to Chellanam's marine erosion.