By Express News Service KOCHI: Chellanam residents, including children and women, on Monday, marched in protest and picketed the panchayat office against the delay in constructing the sea wall. The Paschima Kochi Theera Samrakshana Samithi (West Kochi Coastal Protection Council) had organised the protest. The protestors were accompanied by human rights activists, priests and NGOs.The protestors demanded that the construction of seawall using geotubes should be completed at the earliest as the people living in the vicinity were facing a threat to their lives. They demanded Vigilance probe against Irrigation Department officers who awarded tenders to inexperienced contractor. “Though the District Collector, who visited the place recently, assured that the construction of geotube walls will be completed at the earliest, the work has reached nowhere. The panchayat officers also failed to take necessary steps. Monsoon is likely to gain strength in the coming weeks. Unless a temporary wall is constructed, the entire coastal area will be wiped out,” said Fr. Michael Punnackal, coordinator of West Kochi Coastal Protection Council.

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