By Obiabin Onukwugha
Recently, scientists at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, Bengaluru, published a research paper predicting that 5 per cent of the land in coastal Karnataka’s Mangaluru and Udupi could get submerged by 2040.
Mangaluru and Udupi are coastal cities in the Indian state of Karnataka.
Coastal erosion is a natural phenomenon observed in several locations along Karnataka’s coast, including Kotepura, Padukere near Udupi, Rabindranath Tagore Beach in Karwar, and Ganesh Bagh Beach in Ankola.
Despite spending over Rs 20 crore over the past 25 years, the state government is considering a further investment of Rs 990 crore in constructing sea walls along various stretches of the 40-kilometre-long coastline.
It is reported that while Karnataka’s coastline has not been officially assessed, lakhs of rupees are spent on the ineffective practice of dumping boulders along its shores. This annual ritual, repeated every monsoon, according to a report by Down to Earth (DTE), has failed to stop erosion and may even exacerbate it by disrupting the natural flow of sand along the coast.
Such solutions like permanent sea walls and boulder dumping, has been preferred, but analysts have insisted it does not solve the problem.
Civic activists in Ullal, about 10 kilometres from Mangaluru city, were quoted of arguing that this money invested by the state government over the past 25 years in constructing sea walls would be better spent on building a safe, well-equipped township away from the coast, out of the reaches of the CRZ, ensuring the safety of residents during the monsoon.
Engineers from the Minor Irrigation Department have also advised against allowing any human habitation on vulnerable stretches like Kotepura, as well as all other places like Udyavara in Udupi taluk, Kodi Bengre in Kundapur taluk, Mazhali in Uttara Kannada, Canacona, and Porvorim in Goa. But their warnings have been overshadowed by political interests, according to the DTE. As a result, illegal constructions continue to proliferate, exacerbating the problem.
However, the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) has offered a more sustainable approach in its manual on coastal erosion. The institute advocates for a strategy of retreat, acknowledging that the sea’s advance and retreat are natural, cyclical processes observed worldwide.
SG Mayya, former head of the Department of Applied Mechanics at NITK, who spoke with the DTE, stressed the need for a long-term policy that discourages development near the High Tide Line and promotes the relocation of human settlements.
“No human-made structure can permanently protect the coast.“The only sustainable solution is to respect the natural dynamics of the sea and keep human habitation away from vulnerable areas,” he said.
However, other scientists that Down To Earth (DTE) spoke to said the findings should not be sensationalised.
“The rise in the sea level is unstoppable, but the submergence of cities was exaggerated,” R Shankar, former head of the Department of Marine Geology at Mangaluru University, who is also acknowledged among the top marine geologists of the country, told DTE.
“There could be two reasons for the rise in the sea level: natural and anthropogenic. While not much could be done for natural reasons, the anthropogenic reasons could be minimised or even fully mitigated. The best is to stop doing construction activities on and near the coastline. And move away from the coast, allowing Mother Nature enough space to play,” he added.