TEAM HERALD
CANACONA: At least 18 coconut trees may get uprooted due to sand erosion along the Agonda shore, as waves have pounded the shoreline and have exposed the roots of over a dozen coconut trees.
It may be recalled that time and again, sea waves hit the coast taking away huge chunks of sand and destroying coconut plantations on the shore.
The southernmost end of Agonda beach is the worst affected, as 4-5 coconut trees are uprooted and destroyed every year and locals have estimated that over three dozen coconut trees may have been destroyed till date. In 2009 alone, about a dozen coconut trees got uprooted due to sand erosion.
Locals stated that 18 coconut trees are now under severe threat, with huge waves pounding the area, causing extensive sand erosion.
Then Canacona Mamlatdar, Vinayak Volvoikar, while heading the taluka’s disaster management committee, had inspected the beach and had proposed some rehabilitation measures to keep the beach stretch safe and sound from imminent destruction. However, locals have alleged that authorities have done nothing to resolve the problem so far.
The authorities however expressed helplessness as this is a case of nature’s fury. They said the entire area needs careful planning to prevent the waves causing such extensive damage to the shoreline. They said if one were to build a retaining wall around the shore then this would destroy the natural beauty of the shore and the entire area and this was not conducive to tourism.
Presently it appears as though the area and the plantation there will have to bear the fury of the winds and the sea waves till the monsoons subside.
