Fishermen have taken up the task of preventing sea erosion in about a 120- metre-long area at Maravanthe after their repeated pleas to the authorities to construct a sea wall did not evoke any response. They blame the incomplete work on the outer harbour at Maravanthe for repeated incidents of sea erosion in the area. The construction of the outer harbour started seven years ago but stopped about a year and a half ago. M. Mohan Kharvi, president of Meenugarara Seva Samiti, told The Hindu on Wednesday that the incomplete work was responsible for sea erosion. If work had been completed, the mouth of the harbour would have been 150 metres wide, but now it was 500 metres wide. We met Fisheries Minister Venkatarao Nadagouda and other officers of the Ports Department and urged them to expedite the works. But nothing has been done, he said. The rough sea waves hitting the coast were also affecting the road of the Fisheries Department passing on it. The houses of six fishermen were also in danger of being hit by the waves. Though the Department of Ports had placed boulders and constructed a temporary sea wall last year, the boulders were not put to the level of the coast. This made the area vulnerable to sea waves. Hence, the samiti had at its own cost placed 1,000 sand bags on the 120-metre-long stretch as protection. We spent ? 10 lakh on placing these sand bags. The sand bags were placed on the coast with the help of a crane. The sea is going to be rough till September, said Mr. Kharvi. Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner S.S. Madhukeshwar said that at a review meeting in Kundapur about a fortnight ago, the Ports Department had stated that it was in favour of long-term measures such as a permanent sea wall to check sea erosion than short-term measures. Hence, action had been initiated to relocate the people staying in the six houses on the coast in Maravanthe, he said.