“Neither NMPA nor the quality of work should be blamed if the western arm of the unprotected Northern Breakwater gets damaged,” says the authority. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Having stopped the work on the Kulai Fishing Harbour following demand by traditional fishermen, the New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA) has cautioned that the core material placed on the western arm of the Northern Breakwater could get displaced because of vagaries of nature.
The Port Authority said on Friday (October 18, 2024) that it has been executing the project, estimated to cost ₹ 147 crore, on behalf of the State Fisheries Department. It was asked to stop the work at a meeting attended by traditional fishermen, MP Captain Brijesh Chowta, MLAs Y Bharath Shetty and Yashpal Suvarna and NMPA Chairman A.V. Ramana, among others on Wednesday (October 16, 2024). The traditional fishermen have claimed that the project in its present nature was not beneficial to them.
In a statement here, the Chief Engineer (civil) of the Port said NMPA understands that once such works are stopped abruptly, they continue to remain in the same state for a longer time for want of decisions. “There is a possibility that the core material placed along the western arm of the Northern Breakwater may get displaced and washed away since it is not protected with amour stones and tetrapods. The core material is not strong enough to withstand forces of waves and currents,” the engineer said.
No blame on NMPA
Port’s apprehension has been substantiated by a third-party inspecting agency, the National Institute of Technology-Karnataka at Surathkal. “The possible damage / displacement, if any, caused to the core material of the western arm of the northern breakwater due to non-protection of work and stopping the ongoing work abruptly should not be attributable to the quality of work and also to NMPA,” the engineer stated.
Work progress
NMPA had issued the work order for the harbour in March 2022 to M/s SAPL GCC Joint Venture on engineering, procurement and construction mode. The contractor was expected to complete the work within four years. While the Central Government bears 50% of the cost, the NMPA bears 45%, and the State Government bears 5% of the cost.
The Chief Engineer said construction of the 262 metric tonne Southern Breakwater was almost complete. Construction of the Northern Breakwater, 831 metric tonne long, was complete for 560 metric tonne, as of now. Tetropod casting for the Southern Breakwater was substantially complete, while for the Northern Breakwater, it was complete for about 300 metric tonne. NMPA has told the contractor to place primary and secondary armour for unprotected length of the western arm of the Northern Breakwater to protect the core material from getting displaced.
“The October 16 meeting was called after several traditional fishermen held a protest demanding stoppage of the ongoing work,” the engineer said.
Published – October 19, 2024 01:11 pm IST
