Will sea wave breakers save Karnataka’s coast? Inventor claims so, sea will tell in time

MANGALURU: Ever since Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai mentioned about experimenting with sea wave breaker technology on a kilometre shoreline of Ullal coast, it has piqued interest amongst many, especially the residents whose homes and livelihood are at stake.
Karnataka's coast has seen crores of rupees wasted in the form of boulders and ADB’s Rs 300 crore solution has not worked wonders yet.The waves have found ways and means to break human intervention.
Ullal shoreline will use the globally patented technology of an industrialist from Kasaragod christened `UK Yoosuf Effects Seawave Breakers.’ Yoosuf, director of the company, told TOI: I developed this technology after a lot of research. Me and my team have been working with the local coastal community in Kasaragod for years. We have been ideating and experimenting on various construction technologies and protection measures that could protect the shorelines. The protection measures and their side effects used worldwide were studied too.
Yoousf noted while the boulders and other protection measures are placed on the sand, which gets clawed into the sea by the force of the waves, his technology uses a large block - One unit measuring 50 feet in length, 20 feet in width, 15 feet in height, weighing 400 tons. ``Depending on the requirement the blocks are buried in the sand at a minimum of 10-12 feet leaving the beach usable,’’ he said.
``I had met the CM on June 13, along with fisheries minister S Angara and other officials. Very next day, a team came and looked at my project at Nellikunnu, Kasaragod (100 ft in length), which was completed in May. Impressed by it, the CM has given me the go ahead to try it on a kilometre length in Battapady,’’ he said adding the project cost will be Rs 24 crore, including approach road, garden, beautification and lighting.
``This is 10% of what other technology costs. I’m 1,000% confident of my tech to arrest sea erosion,’’ he said, adding the work will start within two weeks. He also claimed that arresting sea erosion on one end, will not start the erosion process elsewhere.