Groynes planned along three coastal hamlets

Groynes are the boulders placed by humans that jut out to sea to capture sand and form a beach. Found to be ineffective because they only cause erosion on the opposite side of the rock wall.

The Public Works Department (PWD) will put up groynes at three coastal hamlets in the southern districts of Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari. This will be on a total outlay of Rs 15.18 crore from the State exchequer to protect the villages from sea erosion.

Official sources said that the groynes would come up at Threspuram in Tuticorin district, one of the busiest fishing hamlets in the State, Idinthakarai in Tirunelveli district and Enayam Puthanthurai in Kanyakumari district.

The construction would commence next fiscal (2007-08) and be completed within 12 months.

Of the total cost, Rs 6.41 crore was earmarked for Threspuram, Rs 5.62 crore for Idinthakarai and Rs 3.15 crore for Kanyakumari district.

Stones of different sizes would be used for the construction, making it permeable. It would be laid in `bedding,' `core,' `armour' and `toe mount' layers, complying with international standards.

These structures, resembling hockey sticks, would deflect high velocity currents, the sources said.

The PWD would conduct numerical model, bathymetric and physical model studies at the three places prior to the commencement of work, to study tidal effect and depth of the sea. The structures would be configured based on the findings.

Sources also said that they were seeking expertise from Department of Ocean Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, to carry out the study.

Source: The Hindu