Mahakalapara: It was in 1866 or 67 when a French cargo ship Velda carrying foodgrains had sunk near Madali, just some distance away from Hukitola Island of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary area in Kendrapara district. About 156 years have passed since the ship sunk, but its wreckage is yet to be retrieved. It has been posing danger to fishing boats and trawlers on the sea.
Reports said, at that time most of Odisha was under the grip of great famine while people were dying of starvation in thousands. The British government imported foodgrains and other essentials like rice, wheat, edible oil, coconuts, molasses and flattened rice through Velda. The ship was on its way to Jambu Island where it was to unload the essentials. But as ill luck would have it, the ship sank on mid-sea, locals said.
A part of the ship is still visible to the local fishermen and tourists visiting the Hukitola Island. There are instances of the trawlers and boats colliding with the sunken ship in the sea, said some fishermen of Jambu, Tubi and Kajalapatia areas. Fishermen and social activists like Subash Chandra Swain, Laxmidhar Swain, Biranchinarayan Das and Natha Kumar Bhola observed that the wreckage should be retrieved from the sea to ensure safety of fishermen.
Notably, scuba diver Sabir Bux was curious about the sunken French ship. In 2011-12, he dived into the sea with camera to click pictures of the ship in the prohibited marine area without permission of the Forest department. On being informed, former range officer of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary area Mihir Patnaik rushed to the spot and later took legal action against Sabir Bux.
Since the ship is posing threat to trawlers and boats, various local outfits and fishermen have been demanding that the administration should take safety measures to get rid of the wreckage to ward off accidents of boats, ships and trawlers. They have also suggested that the place can be marked with floating warning signs around it. The wrecked ship should be retrieved and kept as showpiece at Hukitola Island to draw tourists. Contacted, ranger of the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary Manas Kumar Das said that they are aware of the sunken ship and fishermen have been warned against going near the ship.
