A NOTE ON VIZHINJAM
CONTAINER PORT SUBMITTED TO THE CHAIRMAN
(of the Public
Hearing on June 29, 13)
I
wish to bring to the attention of the chairman (Dist. Collector) of open forum
discussing the EIA /EMP of Vizhinjam Container Port (VCP) under planning. I am
very concerned about the impending siltation into the harbor basin by “wrongly”
placing the gateway to the port facing southerly along a shoreline with
dominant northerly drift. Inspection of the google earth scenes or the
topographic sheets of SOI published in the 1920’s as well as the 1980’s and the
bathymetric chart, is just enough to get this insight on the sediment drift.
This port’s gateway is facing southerly to let in sediment that travels from
Kanyakumari to Vizhinjam. There are three small rivers (Rao ‘s terminology)
viz., the Neyyar, the Kuzhitura ar and Pazhayar. The following points are in
support of my concern.
1.
The Kannur Fishing Hof Kannur (KFH) and the Vizhinjam Fishing Harbor (VFH) are
the textbook examples of correct design based on a poor data set including
waves and currents. The break water of Kannur port was designed by
Perr Brunn (who also designed the Alexandria harbor, Egypt and one other major
harbor in Australia), a world renowned harbor engineer who regularly came to
India to the National Institute of Oceanography for academic exchanges and research
pursuits.
2.
However, design of breakwater of KFH due to “bad” data, became a text book
example (in Brunn’s own text book) of right design leading to adverse results.
The result is very simple, siltation in the sheltered harbourwaters. The
dominant northerly current in coastal waters of Kerala drove the sediment
straight into the boat basin, as the gateway to the harbor faced southerly.
(This warranted construction of a second breakwater/wharf to block the
northerly drifting sediment from getting into the harbor basin).
3.
The same bias persisted in the design of the breakwater in the VFH, which led
to intensive silting of the boat basin and erosion of bluffs facing the
breakwater shelled tetrapods, (on the backshore over which a large church
building stands). Consequently then, the authorities had to develop a second
breakwater in the VFH to rectify the error.
4.
The Chinese designers while designing the Sri Lankan Container Port apparently
understood the scientific nuances on the west coast of the island nation (as
well as that of India0 and consequently to curtail siltation and consequent
dredging, kept the gateway to the port facing northerly.
5.
I am indeed upset by the designers of VCP, choosing to keep the gateway oriented
southerly which invites huge sediment influx into the harbor basin. I am very
uncomfortable with this design.
6.
In 1980-81, a team that I led to study the sediment drift around the VFH,
reported to the harbor engineering department of the state the intense
northerly drift of sediment and hence into the boat basin. Huge volumes of
sediment are mobilized during the SW monsoon season. VFH added the second break
water after our report.
7.
The depth to the seafloor in this region is projected as an excuse for keeping
the gateway facing southerly.
8.
Well, I am suspicious of the claim hat siltation will not be a major problem
hence. All that I would caution about is the fury and intensity of the SW
monsoon wave climate is something very difficult to predict by modeling.
9.
The monsoon cycles can be intensified by the climate change phenomena affecting
all the littoral nations of the world, and VCP is no exception. I am sure with
severe monsoons the intensity of sand transport will be on the rise and I am
sure that northerly dominant drift along the Kerala coast will not reverse by
itself to save the VCP.
10.
Thank you very much for allowing me to voice my concern about the southerly
orientation of the gateway, in spite of the scientific basis.
Sd/-
(Dr.
Thrivikramji.K.P.)
Professor Emeritus
94464 25842 (M)
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