Uppada's Lifeline: ₹323 Cr Sanctioned for Erosion Wall

Kakinada MP Tangella Uday Srinivas has announced that the central government has sanctioned ₹323 crore for the construction of a protection wall along the Uppada coast, located in the Pithapuram Assembly constituency.

The initiative has been strongly supported by Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan, who represents the constituency. “The completion of this project will offer a permanent solution to the ongoing coastal erosion at Uppada,” said MP Srinivas.

The Uppada coast has been receding at an alarming rate of 1.23 meters per year for over three decades. In 2017–18 alone, approximately 26.3 meters of land were lost to the sea. This erosion has severely affected the livelihoods of fisherfolk in villages such as Uppada, Nemam, Ameenabad, Subbampeta, and Komaragiri, and has caused significant damage to coastal roads and local transport infrastructure.

In response, the Andhra Pradesh Disaster Management Department, under the leadership of Uday Srinivas, escalated the issue to the Union Home Ministry, while the Deputy CM engaged with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for support.

The National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Chennai, prepared a comprehensive proposal recommending a tetrapod-based protection wall. The project is set to be reviewed by a sub-committee in New Delhi on June 30.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.