Mangalore: Five persons were injured on Tuesday when a boat turned at old Bunder estuary entrance, but it is only one such instance among several boats were either got stuck in the moving sand barriers near the Sea, or were struck against fallen rocks of the stone walls broken by sea waves in land slides and sea erosions. The present incident of getting caught in sand was only the third in monsoon here.
The crumbling walls of Kotepur-Ullal Southern breakwater preventive structure, created 18 years ago, could be a reason why boats were overturned, according to Suresh Kumar Ullal, Dr. of Fisheries Department. The northern breakwater erection is at Thota Bengre, 200metres away from southern one. These breakwaters are built to protect the anchorage of boats from ill-wealther effects, and long share drifts. The 200metres wide estuary allows 15 boats to go side by side at a time in to the sea in depth and active (except in Sept.-Oct. when sands accumulate)