Whenever the sea turned rough, it targets these four villages. Hundreds of houses, two guest houses, some ancient Vaishnava and Shiva temples and other heritage buildings have disappeared due to a steady rise in the levels of an aggressive sea.
The Uppada coast is offering livelihood to thousands of people. But, the offensive of the sea has come as a curse to many villages in the coastal area.
According to statistics from the Land and Survey Records Department, 1360.75 acres of land was swallowed by the sea in 8 villages. The government issued notification for a survey of Uppada coast in 1948. The survey was completed in 1956 when 84 acres of land was submerged in the sea in a span of eight years.
Later, in a span of six and half decades, more than 1360 acres of land was affected due to sea erosion. Land is getting merged into the sea every year.
During the 2004-09 period, when Kakinada MP MM Pallam Raju was Union Minister, a Geotube wall was constructed to protect the coast. It has helped to an extent. But due to non-maintenance of the wall and negligence of the people of Uppada, the wall has also been damaged.
After the alliance government came to power in the state this June, deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan took the initiative to protect the Uppada coast from sea erosion. Experts from the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and Maritime Board conducted a survey on sea erosion and proposed solutions to protect the area from further danger.
The Hope Island that acts as a natural barrier for Kakinada also faced sea erosion due to the dredging operations for the Deep Water Port.
The AP disaster management authority gathered information from experts that, among the five east coast states, Andhra Pradesh is the fourth state most-affected by coastal erosion. Within AP, shorelines of Krishna and Godavari Estuaries are critically vulnerable.
Krishna Estuary: Erosion 36.4 per cent; stable 9.6 per cent; and accretion 54.0 per cent
Godavari Estuary: Erosion 47.3 per cent; Stable 6.4 per cent and accretion 46.1 per cent.
Affected villages in U. Kothapalli mandal
In acres: Amaravilli 133.5 acres, Ameenabad 32.26, Komaragiri 362.83, Mulapeta 359.78, Ponnada 233.56, Ramanakkapeta 13.01, Subbampeta 141.3, Uppada 84.51 acres.
