Unanimously agreed upon by all experts.:

CAUSES OF EROSION:

1. Natural:
1. Erosion noticed north of Pondicherry town in 1968 and a sea wall was then built along the beach road
2. Man-made:
1. Fishing harbour built at Ariyankuppam (just south of Pondicherry town) is interfering with the natural Littoral drift(that results in the net movement of about 0.5 million cubic meters of sand northwards every year) and the sand by-passing system has failed, which was supposed to move the accumulated sand northwards.
2. Groynes were built, that were not adequately planned

SOLUTIONS:

1. Immediate:
1. Activate sand by-passing system for nourishment and restoration of beaches north of Pondicherry harbour
2. Undertake capital dredging to nourish critically eroding beaches of Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu
3. Remodeling harbour entrance for natural sand by-passing:

2. Long Term:
1. Restoration by artificial nourishment
2. Investigate off-shore sand deposits for nourishment
3. Identify suitable sand nourishment equipment to operate in wave environment

3. Administrative:
1. Coastal Zone Management Authorities (CZMA) of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry to coordinate and take up the issue of coastal erosion jointly
2. Initiate Pondicherry component of Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (ICZMP), in conjunction with Tamil Nadu’s ICZMP