The guard wall rebuilt just 15 days ago to protect the Puri-Konark marine drive eco retreat has been washed away by the strong tidal waves.

The guard wall in this part was constructed last year to protect the busy marine drive along National Highway 316, a 35-km stretch between Puri and Konark. But it was damaged early this month, following which it was reconstructed.

Puri sub-collector Bhabataran Sahu told The Telegraph: “A guard wall stretches up to seven to eight kilometres and it is divided into different stretches. A 250-metre-long stretch of the wall had collapsed and was later washed away. We have already apprised the National Highway Authority of the development. We are putting sandbags near the road passing through the beach so that the tidal waves cannot advance and the road remains protected. But a long-term solution is needed.”

Tidal waves washed away the guard wall of Puri- Konark marine drive. Sarat Kumar Patra

A local journalist, Ajit Kumar Mallick, also called for a long-term solution.

“The guard wall was washed away in the high tide caused by the incessant rains triggered by a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal. Tidal waves rising up to five metres hit the beach. A long-term solution is needed to protect the sea beach,” Mallick said.

The marauding sea is threatening to swallow the busy national highway connecting Puri and Konark.

Residents expressed concern. “For the past six months, the sea seems to be inching towards the coast. It is likely to devour a major portion of the land, beaches and the roads along the coastline,” a resident said.

Some others said that earlier there were hundreds of sand dunes protecting the sea beach, which are now not visible. “But in the name of organising eco retreat functions every year to attract the tourists, the authorities destroy the sand dunes. Now because of this, the sea has started devouring the land,” a resident claimed.

S.S.C. Shenoi, former director of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, in his presentation on “Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities” here in Bhubaneswar earlier this month, had said: “Most of the coastal areas are low-lying and vulnerable to oceanogenic disasters such as tsunamis, storm surges and sea-level rise.”

He added that “34 per cent of the shoreline along the mainland of India is affected by various degrees of erosion.”