Kerela Diary: This once-promising ‘national project’ has become a curse for the coastal communities
By A K Shiburaj
The coastal people of Muthalappozhi in Kerala had never imagined that the harbor, initially seen as a boon for their livelihood, would turn into a threat to their very lives. Indeed, what was meant to be a facility for efficient fishing, has now become a relentless source of nightmare. Despite numerous lives lost, no solution has been found to address the dangers. As incidents of sea attacks and boat accidents along the coast continue to occur, it’s important to ask: what are the underlying causes?
Accidents at Muthalappozhi Harbour — located around 30 km from Kerala’s capital, Thiruvananthapuram — have claimed the lives of fishermen for years. Large waves often make it difficult for boats to stay afloat, and strong currents at the mouth of the harbor frequently cause boats to capsize. Sudden movements can lead to fishermen sustaining serious injuries, such as head trauma, from hitting the sides of boats.
This once-promising ‘national project’ has become a curse for the coastal communities. Sand deposits from the Arabian Sea and Vamanapuram Lake form underwater hillocks. Sea waves surge from the west, while lake currents push from the east, creating unstable, high waves, when they collide with the sand. Fishing boats caught in this turbulence often lose control and crash into rocks or tetrapods.
The harbor, built in the early 2000s, has been operational even before its official commissioning in 2020. Muthalappozhi is approximately 40 km north of Vizhinjam, where fishers recently launched a movement against the Adani Group’s mega seaport project, fearing it would devastate their livelihood. That protest was suppressed with the backing of various political formations across Kerala.
According to official figures, the scenic estuary has witnessed over 700 accidents in the past 10 years, resulting in the death of 69 people. More than 700 others have been seriously injured in boat capsizing incidents near the harbor’s mouth.
However, the local fishing community believes the actual death toll from these recurring accidents is much higher than what has been officially reported. Additionally, in each accident, fishing equipment and boats worth lakhs of rupees have been destroyed.
The Impact of the Adani Vizhinjam Port
Experts and fishers have pointed out that the mouth of Muthalappozhi harbor became a labyrinth of death traps around eight years ago, coinciding with the Adani Group’s construction of a breakwater. This structure was intended to facilitate the transport of construction materials, including large rock pieces, for the deep-sea works required for the Vizhinjam international seaport.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Harbour Engineering Department (HED) in 2018, Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt Ltd (AVPPL) was responsible for dredging the navigation channel and maintaining its depth at five meters until May, 2024. Additionally, AVPPL was required to remove rocks that had slipped into the navigation channel.
Currently, a dispute between Adani and Kerala’s Harbour Engineering Department over the responsibility for regular desilting of the harbor mouth has left the area more vulnerable. AJ Vijayan, coastal expert and founding member of the National Fish Workers Forum, explains that silting has significantly reduced the depth of the harbor, leading to frequent boat capsizing. He attributes this to the formation of underwater sandbars, and strong, conflicting currents that create dangerous eddies, making navigation treacherous for incoming fishing boats.
The Adani Group’s dredging activities have simply shifted sand from one area to another, exacerbating the sand accumulation problem. Without regular sand bypassing, no sustainable solution is possible.
Unfortunately, political parties have turned this issue into a tool for political mileage. Even the recent report by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) in Pune remains inaccessible to the public, according to Vijayan.
Design Issues
The technical expertise for the Muthalappozhi project was provided by the Ocean Engineering Department of IIT Chennai, while Kerala’s Harbour Engineering Department was responsible for its construction. By 2005, several modifications were made to the original project, and many now allege that these changes have turned out to be fatal for the local fishing community.
Designed by Dr Sunder of IIT Chennai (Department of Ocean Engineering), the Muthalappozhi Fishing Harbor features two breakwaters, one on the north side, and one on the south side of the estuary. However, issues began as soon as the breakwater on the south side was constructed.
Sand started accumulating along the southern breakwater, and when the intended length of the structure was reached, the sand had nowhere to go. It began to fill the space between the two breakwaters. In response, the length of the breakwaters was extended, but the sand continued to build up. As the sand filled the harbor entrance, it altered the wave patterns and flow of water, which in turn led to an increase in accidents within the harbor, says Jackson Pollayil, president of the Kerala Swathanthra Malsya Thozhilaali Federation (KSMTF), an organization of independent fish workers.
The reluctance of the Ocean Engineering Department to incorporate the traditional knowledge of the fishing community about the ecosystem, and the effects of human intervention, needs to change, according to him.
CWPRS Recommendations
A study conducted by the renowned Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) in Pune, commissioned by the Kerala Ports Department, produced a report in January 2011. This report outlined recommendations that, if implemented, might have mitigated the ongoing dangers. Those calling for new studies and solutions today would have done well to heed this earlier report, which contained key insights that could have prevented many of the current issues.
The CWPRS report presented two major suggestions to ensure the smooth functioning of the fishing harbor. First, it recommended extending the breakwaters. Second, it proposed a process known as sand bypassing, which involves collecting sand from the south side, where it accumulates, and transferring it to the northern side, where coastal erosion is a problem.
Six years after the breakwaters were built, siltation caused turbulence at the harbor entrance. To prevent this, the report recommended continuous sand removal from the first year of operation. However, the government rejected this scientific proposal, citing the high annual costs, estimated to run into crores of rupees.
Faulty Study
Many argue that the ‘faulty study’ conducted by IIT Madras has resulted in innocent lives being lost. The breakwater system, deployed at an incorrect angle by the Harbour Engineering Department, has reduced the coastal area on the side of the Anchuthengu area. This reduction has led to more intense sea storms along the Anchuthengu coast and increased boat accidents near the harbor.
Before designing breakwaters, several key factors must be thoroughly studied, including wind direction, wind speed, historical wave patterns, tidal data, local water currents, and the geological structure of the coast. Based on these elements, advanced technical studies, such as numerical modeling and wave simulations should be conducted using specialized software. In addition to technical assessments, social and environmental impact studies, geo-technical analyses, and graphic surveys are necessary to ensure the design is both safe and effective.
Johnson Jament, Coastal Researcher and Ocean Literacy Promoter at BlueGreen Coastal Resource Centre, highlights that the coastal area of Thiruvananthapuram has unique ecosystem features that influence the depth and strength of the ocean currents, distinguishing it from other coastal regions. The design experts failed to account for the unique characteristics of the lagoon-type estuary, leading to a significant flaw in the construction.
Consequently, while the northern villages experience coastal erosion, the southern villages face sand deposits that hinder safe landings for fishing boats. This complex situation has severely affected livelihoods that once thrived before the harbor’s commissioning.
An Uncertain Journey Forward
Regular dredging and reshaping of the sandbanks in the estuary can help reduce the frequency of accidents to some extent. However, dredging is a relatively expensive process. For a more permanent solution, a wharf or seawall should be constructed in an arc shape, parallel to the levees in the harbor.
This design would partially cover the harbor mouth, allowing control over the strong waves that enter the harbor and preventing the formation of sandbars. By reducing the influx of sand and controlling dangerous water currents, the risks to fishermen could be minimized. This possibility should be explored, says Johnson Jament.
Community-based disaster preparedness is also essential. Moreover, robust social security measures, including life insurance and provisions for food and livelihood security during extreme weather events, must be put in place.
Along with that, conducting a social audit is essential to evaluate the impact of developmental projects on fishing communities and marine ecosystems. This step is critical for understanding the consequences of such projects and promoting sustainable and equitable development.
The primary reason for accidents at Muthalappozhi is government negligence. Functionaries of the central and state governments have visited Muthalappozhi multiple times. The governments have appointed committees to conduct detailed studies. Despite numerous visits by expert committees and various investigations, no effective intervention has been made.
The state government’s expert team and other committees such as CWPRS have recommended altering the alignment of the breakwaters after conducting their studies. However, these recommendations involve long-term projects with substantial financial implications. As a result, the accidents at Muthalappozhi have continued without resolution.
AK Shiburaj is an independent journalist based in Kerala.
Thank you Shibu for your studied report. What we are missing in media is your kind of journalism.