Beach erosion calls for holistic approach: expert

The beach erosion problem in the city is not a recent phenomenon. It has been occurring since 1940s, ever since the development of Visakhapatnam Port has been taking place, said president of International Association of Lowland Technology and former professor of Civil Engineering II-Kanpur, Madhira R Madhav.

He was here on Friday, to deliver the keynote address on the topic Beach erosion mitigation with geo-synthetics at a workshop organised by the Department of Civil Engineering, Andhra University College of Engineering.

According to him the problem needs to be addressed holistically and dropping boulders or building a retaining wall only serves as fire-fighting method.

He pointed out that apart from natural occurrence such as storms, wind speed and tectonic episodes; human intervention is the major cause for beach erosion.

In most of the cases it has been seen that natural barriers such as wetlands, dunes and coastal forests have been encroached upon with impunity by human force and at the same time the beach nourishment has not been given its due importance.

Prof. Madhav advocated the building of a flexible wall, rather than a rigid structure.

Earlier, Vice-Chairman of Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) T. Babu Rao Naidu, said that the beach erosion issue was like a cancer and it needs to be diagnosed properly before treating it. And academia should play a major role in this aspect, he said.

He was also critical of the CRZ violations.

The CRZ norm is like a Laxman rekha, but seldom adhered to and frequently flouted by the rich and the influential, he said.

Vice-Chancellor of AU G.S.N. Raju said that inputs from the workshop should be integrated into the solution.

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Beach erosion calls for holistic approach: expert