Kendrapara: The Aul Saline Embankment Division has started repairing the damaged portion of the geo synthetic tube seawall on Pentha beach which was torched by some people Sunday, said Purna Chandra Rath, Executive Engineer of Aul Saline Embankment Division.
As high tide is going on and a low pressure is on the cards there is a possibility of granite pieces getting dislocated on the damaged portion of the seawall.
The granite stones kept intact inside gabion boxes can fall into the sea during high tides and hit the geo synthetic tube seawall. So repairs are going on a war-footing to protect the geo synthetic tube seawall.
Meanwhile, plastic bags filled with sand are kept near the damaged seawall to protect the geo synthetic tube seawall.
Permanent repair will be carried out under the guidance of a technical team who is visiting the spot to take stock of the damage seawall. The seawall was damaged due to the torching of the high tensile ropes used in the gabion boxes to keep the granite pieces intact, said Rath.
“We are very much concerned about the geo synthetic tube seawall which was designed by the experts of IIT Chennai as it was a pilot project costing Rs 32.95 crore to protect the lives and properties of 41,222 people in the 54 villages of Rajnagar block from the turbulent sea,” said Rath.
It’s difficult to guard the seawall round the clock as long as locals do not come forward to protect it realizing that it is protecting their lives and property from the sea, Rath added.
“We are trying to prevent outsiders from going to the geo synthetic seawall as there is a possibility of someone damaging it. The department is going to take police help to protect the seawall,” Rath said.
Some miscreants torched a part of the high tensile ropes used in the gabion boxes to keep the granite pieces on the seawall intact. The damage to the high tensile ropes is around Rs 5 lakh.
Later, the Assistant Executive Engineer of Rajnagar Embankment Sub-Division, Umesh Chandra Swain, lodged an FIR at the Rajnagar police station saying that some people put the ropes on fire.
Police registered a case. No arrests have been made so far, said SDPO Ranjan Kumar Dey.
PNN
