LDF walkout in Kerala assembly over misery of coastal people

The opposition LDF members today staged a walkout in the Kerala Assembly over misery of people living in the coastal areas across the state due to extensive damage caused by severe sea erosion with the onset of the monsoon.

Though Chief Minister Oommen Chandy shared the concern over the matter and said the government had taken emergency measures to provide relief to the affected people, Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan trooped his colleagues out of the House accusing the government of not taking things seriously.

The issue was raised in the House by V S Sunil Kumar(CPI) pressing for adjournment, which was disallowed by the chair in the light of replies to the notice by the Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister P J Joseph.

Chandy said an amount of Rs 18 crore had already been allotted to the affected districts to provide emergency relief in the affected areas.

The Government was ready to shell out more funds to tackle the situation and the district administrations had been told that funds crunch should not be a constraint in taking up relief measures without any delay, he said.

Chandy said construction of seawalls in erosion prone areas was not sufficient to tackle this recurring problem. Experts were of the view that creating breakwaters could be a better and long-term solution but this was a very costly option, he said.

The state also wanted the Centre to support the coastal protection measures since coastline is national boundary, he said.