Fed up with government apathy, Mangaluru villagers themselves build a sea wall

After their pleas fell on deaf ears, residents of Chitrapura in Mangaluru pooled in money and built a 350-metre-long sea wall to protect their houses from the raging sea, ahead of the impending monsoon. Last year, heavy rains and strong waves had caused a lot of damage in the village.

Mangaluru (Karnataka): Fed up with the indifference meted out by the district administration, residents of Chitrapura near Mangaluru decided to take matters into their own hands as they built a wall to protect the village from the raging sea.

Every year during the rainy season, the region witnesses high-speed winds along with raging sea waves which wreak havoc along the coast.

Last year, a lot of houses in Chitrapura were damaged due to the heavy rainfall and strong waves.

Though the villagers had made a crude sea wall out of rocks a few years back, it was not enough to protect the village last year, following which residents approached the district administration to help them.

However, with their pleas falling on deaf ears, the villagers themselves pooled in money and decided to build a sea wall.

The villagers first filled empty cement bags with sand, and dug an eight-foot-deep trench along the beach. The trench, measuring around 350 metres in length, was filled with the sandbags.

The sandbags provide a strong foundation and will hence be successful in controlling the waves, the villagers claimed.

After he came to know about the villagers' feat, Mangaluru North MLA Dr Y Bharath Shetty assured to cover the expenses incurred by the villagers for their work.

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