Edavanakkad panchayat prioritises tetrapod seawall, campaign against drug abuse

The newly elected governing committee of Edavanakkad panchayat has identified the implementation of a tetrapod-based seawall, modelled on the Chellanam panchayat, as its foremost priority.

A ₹55-crore proposal to construct the 1.5-kilometre-long tetrapod seawall is on the anvil. While the general council of the Goshree Islands Development Authority has sanctioned ₹35 crore, the remaining ₹20 crore still needs to be mobilised.

“Mobilising funds through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board or the National Disaster Management Authority remains an option. Alternatively, the State government can allocate funds by including it under the ₹1,000 crore earmarked for coastal development in the last Budget. However, this requires Cabinet approval,” said K.S. Sajith, the newly elected panchayat president.

This marks his fourth term as a panchayat member, in addition to serving as vice-president of the Vypeen block panchayat for the 2020–25 term.

Edavanakkad is among the climate change-prone hotspots identified by the State government. The panchayat faces severe challenges from sea erosion and tidal flooding, which has now become an almost daily occurrence. It is one of the few panchayats in the district to have passed a resolution demanding that tidal flooding be notified as a disaster and included in the list of State- and national-level disasters.

Mr. Sajith also identified combating the drug menace as another priority. “Vypeen is among the worst affected by drug abuse, with even children at risk. We plan to launch a sustained campaign against this menace. Establishing playgrounds in every ward is part of that effort. In addition, the panchayat aims to set up a sports hub by either purchasing or leasing land, thereby insulating youngsters from drug abuse by offering sports as an effective alternative,” he said.

Encouraging pokkali farming

Encouraging pokkali farming is another key focus area. Edavanakkad is one of the rare panchayats where three wards have been denied the benefits of exemption under the Coastal Zone Regulation norms of 2019, despite a map already being published. “We will strive to correct this anomaly,” said Mr. Sajith, who is also a member of the CPI(M)’s Vypeen area committee.