Kerala minority commission directs Chief Secretary to supervise urgent works at Muthalapozhi breakwater
The Kerala State Commission for Minorities has directed the Chief Secretary to supervise the urgent works required to make the Muthalapozhi breakwater safe and accident-free
The Kerala State Commission for Minorities has directed the Chief Secretary to supervise the urgent works required to make the Muthalapozhi breakwater safe and accident-free, by ensuring the coordination of all departments concerned. Petitions were heard by commission chairman A.A. Rasheed at its sitting held at the commission’s headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. Based on news reports in 2024 regarding the recurring accidents at Muthalapozhi, the commission had taken suo motu cognizance of the matter and made continuous interventions on the issue; it had issued necessary directives regarding the construction works needed at the breakwater, including sand dredging.
It was through the commission’s intervention that funds were secured from Adani ports authorities for increasing the depth of the river mouth, so that accidents at Muthalapozhi could be prevented. The commission noted that it was unfortunate that despite the its continuous interventions over the past two years, the authorities could not do much to improve safety measures to prevent further accidents at Muthalapozhi. The district administration and the Harbour Engineering department, which had earlier assured the commission that sand removal would be completed before the monsoon, did not even carry out the dredging, claiming that the dredger was out of order.
‘Lack of coordination’ The commission noted that the authorities failed to fully disburse the financial assistance sanctioned by the government to the families of fishermen who lost their lives at Muthalapozhi or improve safety measures at the breakwater, solely due to the lack of coordination between various departments. Although administrative sanction for ₹177 crore was obtained from the Central government under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme for works including the extension of the length of the southern breakwater, the follow-up work has been slow, the commission pointed out.
The commission also sharply criticised the district administration’s failure to ensure the continued supervision of works.
The BriefWire