Visakhapatnam: Protection wall at Beach Road falls off
Owing to cyclone Jawad, part of the protection wall at the Children’s Park at RK Beach, Visakhapatnam, collapsed due to soil erosion. Photo: Vasu Potnuru
Visakhapatnam/Kakinada: Though people breathed a sigh of relief as Cyclone Jawad weakened into a deep depression before reaching the east coast, the sea surge left a major impact as parts of RK Beach along the Visakhapatnam coast were damaged due to sand erosion.
Though damages to life and property due to cyclone were not there in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts, sea surge resulted in damage to the protection and left the play area at Children's Park badly damaged on the Beach Road. The entire area has been closed to the public. The park was popular with citizens and huge crowds used to come particularly on weekends.
The soil erosion is apparent opposite Novotel at RK Beach. Owing to the swelling waves, parts of the protection wall near the park collapsed and fell on the shore. The damaged wall stretched up to 100-mt approximately. In addition, concrete benches along the area got uprooted. The surge in sea waves was said to be the result of Cyclone Jawad.
According to sources, the beach erosion started on Saturday night. Though the presence of people at that time was minimal, the tourists were asked to stay away from the spot for safety reasons.
Also, traffic has been diverted from the route.
From Sunday, entry towards RK Beach bus stop to Hawa Mahal has been stopped. Barricades were placed along the stretch to restrict visitors' movement. Meanwhile, officials from the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation visited the spot and examined the damage and the measures that need to be taken to rebuild the collapsed wall.
The issue of frequent erosion has been a major problem during monsoon. However, officials said that there was no cause for concern as beach erosion is a recurring phenomenon, especially when there is cyclonic circulation of wind along the coast.
In Kakinada, roads along the sea coast between Uppada and Kakinada have been severely damaged by high tidal waves and consequently water overflowed on the road and bridge abutting the sea. As a result, the road got badly damaged.