A portion of the geo-synthetic-tube wall, built about a decade back to arrest sea erosion in vulnerable pockets of the Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district, was washed away due to the impact of cyclone Montha.
Meanwhile, senior officials of the water resources department rushed to the spot on Saturday to take stock of the situation and expedite the repair of the damaged synthetic seawall structure.
The structure was doing a lot to protect the seaside Pentha, Hatina, Mahisasura, and other coastal pockets from advancing sea.
The Pune-based company, which had installed the structure, has already been informed to rebuild the damaged gabion boxes of the sea wall, said the Assistant Executive Engineer (saline embankment) Division, Ashis Kumar Swain.
The 505 metre long seawall is successfully withstanding the onslaught of battering sea waves along the Pentha coast. The seawall project formed part of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP) and was funded by the World Bank. The project construction work was carried out under the technical expertise and guidance of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai, to protect the vulnerable from the onslaught of the crawling sea, said officials.
Pentha coast under Brahmansahi gram panchayat under Rajnagar Tehsil of Kendrapara district was being constantly battered by marauding sea waves, prompting the state government to install geo-synthetic buffers on the embankment to arrest sea erosion.