KOCHI: Amid protests by residents and allegations of delay in implementing a comprehensive solution to the sea erosion issues in Chellanam coastal village, the tender for the renovation of the broken seawall has been invited.
Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (KIIDC) has floated the tenders for the reformation of the damaged sunken seawall using tetrapods.
The plan is to restore the broken seawall using tetrapods and rubble for 10km along the coast in between CP stone 976 and 1,052 in Chellanam under the Kerala infrastructure investment fund board (KIIFB) project.
In the first phase, the construction of seawall will be held at a length of around7km in between CP stones 986 and CP 1,026 at a cost of Rs 252 crore. The stipulated period of completion of the works is 16 months .
According to the tender, the contractor must construct the seawall using granite stones, weighing 10kg to 700kg, and tetrapods weighing 2 tonne to 3 tonne, as per approved design on top of non-woven geo-textile mat as specified.
Also, the contractor should have their own casting and stacking yard for stones and tetrapods and must establish weigh bridges. They also have to ensure necessary software and internet connection for the weigh bridge and the yard.
The tender also states that the cement used should be suitable for marine environment and stipulates the minimum grade of concrete to make the tetrapods. All details regarding the experience of the contractor, rules, conditions and work nature have been published in the tender document.
“The technical committee for the project was constituted last week. We hope to get some good bidders before the deadline so that the work could be started at the earliest. The plan is to complete at least a major portion of the work before the monsoons in next year as the coast is likely to see huge sea erosion at that time. But everything depends on several reasons, including the availability of rock,” said a KIIDC source.
According to residents, processes including tendering are lagging behind the schedule promised by the government and the works should be started at the earliest.
“Several projects were announced by the government and the tendering and inaugurations too have happened in the past but most of them are still incomplete. The seawall project is the last hope for residents and it must be completed as per the schedule,” said Jinson Veluthamannungal, a resident and coordinator of Care Chellanam, a people’s collective.
