Mohammed Shiyas, MLA, has demanded the immediate launch of the second phase of construction of the tetrapod-based seawall along the unprotected coastline of Chellanam panchayat.
He was participating in a meeting held at the district collectorate on Saturday (May 30, 2026) to review the second phase of the project. Mr. Shiyas said hurdles in the way of the construction should be removed at the earliest and that the officials concerned should make the necessary interventions.
“A new project should be conceived and submitted to the State government for the beautification and protection of the coastline stretching between Chellanam and Fort Kochi,” he said. District Collector G. Priyanka said the deployment of geobags to prevent sea incursion is under way.
While the second phase of work has been assigned to the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS), the agreement could not be executed as the election was declared, bringing the model code of conduct into force. Technical sanction for the project is still awaited.
The Chellanam-Kochi Janakeeya Vedhi, which has been in the forefront of the agitation for a protected coast, on Saturday escalated its 2,409-day-long protest with a dharna to draw attention to its woes ahead of the monsoon. The Vedhi demanded immediate steps to begin construction of the seawall from Puthenthode at the earliest.
Former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had inaugurated the second phase, spanning 6.10 kilometres from Puthenthode to Manassery, at an estimated cost of ₹404 crore, to be funded under the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), on March 7, 2026. Though no timeline was announced for its completion, many affected families, encouraged by the project, returned after repairing houses damaged by sea incursions, using resources raised with considerable difficulty. The first phase of the project, covering a 7.3-km stretch from Chellanam to Puthenthode, was executed by ULCCS at a cost of ₹347 crore, funded under the KIIFB.
Published – May 30, 2026 07:30 pm IST
