Kendrapara: A total of 147 villages in this district, declared as eco-sensitive by the Centre have come under serious threat due to the mushrooming of prawn gheries, sources said Sunday. Toxic and chemical effluents discharged by them are harming the environment and destroying farmlands and contaminating water bodies. The gheries are located in Mahakalpara, Rajnagar and Rajkanika blocks.
These villages were declared as eco-sensitive after the Centre published a notification (no-2180J) in this regard, October 21, 2014.
Among the villages that have got the eco-sensitive tag are Banapada, Bhuinpur, Gogua, Ishanipala, Haripur, Kajalabandha, Kalatunga, Kakatpur, Koriapala, Narsinghpur, Maladiha, Paunsiapala, Ratapanga, Sankhachit, Sasan, Singarpur, Tantiapala, Benakanda, Telanga and Panikhia.
Sources said that over 10,000 illegal prawn gheries are in operation in various areas of Mahakalpara, Rajnagar and Rajkanika blocks of the district. However, despite being repeatedly pulled up by the Orissa High Court, the district administration has failed to act against the owners of these gheries. Locals alleged that the district administration’s silence on the issue is nothing but violation of Environment Protection Act-1986.
The gheries are also posing a serious threat to human lives. This is because the owners of the gheries are using sub-standard motor pumps and aviators that release toxic smoke. Breathing that smoke can severely damage the lungs and lead to death. Sources said that four persons working in gheries have died due to this problem in the last couple of years.
The death of a labourer identified as Congress Munda of Mayurbhanj district at a prawn ghery in Amarabati village under Talchua police limits, Friday is a case in this point.
Commenting on the issue, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, district convener of the Odisha Suchana Adhikar Abhiyan (OSAA) said that since 2017, the Orissa High Court has issued directions to pull down the prawn gheries. The court even appointed Advocate Mohit Agarwal as amicus curiae to supervise the demolition of the gheries. However, the apathy of the district administration has only emboldened the prawn farmers to continue their work with impunity.
Taking advantage of the situation, prawn gheries have mushroomed on hundreds of acres of land in Badatubi area under Mahakalapara block close to the coastline. This in future will seriously affect the environment in the 147 villages, sources stated.
Environmentalist Lakshmidhar Swain alleged that the gheries are being established in contravention of the guidelines framed by the Forest and Wildlife departments, Coastal Aquaculture Authority and the Central Empowered Committee of Orissa High Court. The prawn feed, medicines and chemical fertilizers used in the gheries are destroying the environment in many villages, he stated.
Local intelligentsia Lakshmikanta Nayak said that the use of low-quality motor pumps and aviators have resulted in 11 mishaps in the gheries during last three years. Other than the deaths, there have been instances of the pumps exploding and causing serious injuries to workers.
When contacted, Kendrapara sub-collector Niranjan Behera said that eviction drive against the prawn gheries has not stopped. The eviction drive has been intensified after the order of the Orissa High Court. Currently, plans are afoot to conduct a survey of the gheries with drones following which those will be demolished, he added.
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