Problem of soil erosion has aggravated due to heavy rain in last 3-4 days.
As if the heavy rain was not enough, coastal villages of South Gujarat region are facing yet another assault at the hands of nature – soil erosion. High tides and strong currents have been washing away soil on the shore. According to irrigation department authorities, an action plan has been framed to prevent this situation.
Soil erosion is a natural process at coastal villages, but continuous rains for past four days have been wreaking havoc. Sea tides are higher than normal and so is the current of the sea water. Adding to the woes is non-availability of water outlets, due to which sea water remains on the land till it dries up.
“Heavy rain in the past few days has resulted in heavy soil erosion in coastal villages of Valsad and Navsari districts. Protection walls created to prevent soil erosion are proving useless. The district administration is incapable of dealing with the situation,” said Jayesh Naik, a resident of Valsad town.
According to Naik, Nani Danti and Moti Danti villages of Valsad district and Borsi Macchiwad village of Navsari district are the most affected. Sea water has entered 3050 metres in Danti villages, while 2,500 meters have been covered in Borsi Macchiwad.
Kanti Tandel, a resident of Nani Danti village, said that his house had 2-3 feet water due to high tides. “This has happened on every high-tide in past 3-4 days,” he said.
“Till now, the water never came beyond the verandah of my house, but the sea is very rough this year. On Monday, there were tides of more than six feet in height.
The water entered deep inside the village and covered houses, streets and open lands,” Tandel added.
To check soil erosion in coastal villages of South Gujarat region, state government had formed a committee ‘Reformation of Task Force for Coastal Erosion Work’ under the chairmanship of M Bava on August 6 last year.
“We have planned eight schemes to prevent erosion and will execute schemes in a phased manner. This includes creating protection walls of heavy stones – each measuring 2 to 3.5 ton, at the coast. All schemes will be funded under 13th Finance Commission,” an official at Irrigation Department (Surat) said, requesting anonymity. According to the official, Bhadeli Jagalala, Nani Danti & Moti Danti villages in Valsad, Dandi, Samapore, Dholai and Borsi Macchiwad in Navsari district and Dumas in Surat district have been included in the scheme.
Tenders have been floated and work is expected to start after October 2013.
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