Repos beach community

In the previous issue of Auroville Today we published the major considerations and decisions of the Governing Board as reported in the minutes of its 67th Governing Board meeting held in Auroville on 31 May 2024.

The gradual erosion of the Tamil Nadu coast is a well-known phenomenon. Erosion happens when the shoreline is worn away by the movement of sand and waves.

In the early morning of Wednesday 18 May, Bhaga (Christiane Odile Gabriau) peacefully left her body at the age of 77 in her Luminosity flat.

In the past decade, relentless sea erosion has badly affected some of Auroville's beach communities. Auroville Today reported on the problems a number of times, most recently in the article "New hope for our beaches?"

Twenty years ago, generations of Aurovilians enjoyed the beaches and the sea. Now almost all the beaches and many Auroville houses have disappeared.

Aurofilio is a member of PondyCAN, a citizen’s action network located in Pondicherry. He has been very much involved with promoting the Pondicherry Beach Restoration scheme, which is now underway to restore the town’s beach.

Beach erosion has very badly affected some of our beach communities for the past decade. In Auroville Today we have reported a number of times on the problem as well as on proposals to solve or mitigate it, but so far, apart from research, very little has been done on the ground.

Juan and Samai, the brothers who started the surf school in Auroville, arrived in 1995 at the ages of 11 and 10 respectively. Within a year’s time, they were introduced to the surfing world by the Auroville surfing pioneers, André, Patrick, Jacky, and Andy.