Due to requests from the local fishing community for an early completion of the project, the New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA), which is in charge of overseeing the ongoing construction of the Southern and Northern breakwaters at Kulai Fishing Harbour, has encountered significant challenges. The construction of the 831-meter-long Northern Breakwater has progressed to 560 meters, while the 262-meter-long Southern Breakwater is nearly complete.
Tetrapod casting is currently underway, and the southern breakwater has about 300 meters of tetrapods placed, and the northern breakwater has about 300 meters of tetrapods placed. In order to safeguard the core material against damage, the contractor has been instructed to install primary and secondary armor along the exposed portion of the northern breakwater’s western arm.
A group of 100 fisherman protested, calling for a halt to current operations. The Hon’ble M.P. Capt. Brijesh Chowta, MLA Dr. Bharath Y. Shetty, MLA Yashpal Suvarna, the local fishermen’s community, and experts from CICEF, CWPRS, Third Party Inspection Agency NITK, Surathkal, and PMC attended a meeting in the board room on the grievances of local fishermen, which was chaired by Dr. A.V. Ramana, Chairperson of the NMPA.
Following much discussion and consideration, the fishermen’s community members expressed disagreement with the CWPRS, CICEF, and NMPA’s positions, and it was requested that the breakwater’s ongoing construction be immediately halted.
According to the port, if such works are stopped suddenly, they stay in the same condition for a longer period of time because no decisions are made, and there is a chance that the core material that is placed along the northern breakwater’s western arm may be displaced and washed away because it is not shielded by tetrapods and armour stones.
The strength of the core material is insufficient to resist the forces of currents and waves. As a result, the breakwater’s core material could be washed away. The third-party inspecting organization NITK has confirmed this.
