more-in Residents of the district’s coast have their life thrown into uncertainty yet again with strong waves advancing past the sea walls at Valiathura and Anchuthengu since Friday morning. Eleven houses have been damaged at Anchuthengu and four at Valiathura. Some of the residents have been moved to temporary relief camp in schools. Some others have shifted to the houses of their relatives. According to Subcollector K. Inbasekhar, who visited Anchuthengu, eleven houses have sustained serious damage. “I have issued instructions to the tahsildar to take steps to operate relief camps. Some of the affected families have been shifted to a nearby school. The rest have gone to their the houses of their relatives. Houses are already being constructed for these families at another location as part of various rehabilitation schemes. The tahsildar will assess the extent of damage to the houses,” said Mr. Inbasekhar. At Valiathura, the affected areas include Cheriathura, Valiathura, Karuppayi Road, Kuzhivilakam, St. Mary’s Lane and the area extending up to the Shanghumukhom beach. Hundreds of houses are under the threat of the waves. The waves have reached up to the third row of houses. “The waves are not too high, but since morning, it has been advancing past the sea wall. The sea wall is already damaged in several places. The sea has been advancing in this region ever since the construction of the Vizhinjam port began. Now, the construction of groins in the Poonthura and Beemapally area has further worsened the situation in Valiyathura and nearby places. Groins have to be constructed here too to provide some relief,” says Tony Oliver, president, Trivandrum Kambavala Matsyathozhilali Federation. Some of the families have been shifted to the Government Upper Primary School at Valiathura, a section of which already houses families shifted here last season. The Government Fisheries Technical Higher Secondary School also houses a few families from last year. The community hall at the Fathima Matha church is also being suggested as an alternative location. There was some tension between fish workers and the police as the former had shifted some of the fishing boats to the road as the waves advanced. The police wanted it removed as it was a tourist area. The boats have now been kept close to the road.

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