Kendrapara/Rajnagar: At least 141 illegal prawn gherries in the Bhitarkanika National Park (BNP) in Kendrapara district have been dismantled in joint raids by the officials of the Forest and Revenue departments and the local police.
As per the order of the High Court, cases have been registered against the owners of these illegal prawn gherries. That apart, police have arrested five mafias in Rajnagar.
However, locals said the pace of dismantling of such illegal prawn gherries has slowed down over last few days. The sudden indifference by the authorities has raised concern among local environmentalists.
Over 15,000 of such illegal prawn gherries have killed the splendour of the Bhitarakanika National Park. They have been the main reason for the deaths of wildlife and marine creatures.
Besides, they have destroyed hectares of agricultural land in the region. The BMP was deprived of getting enlisted in the world heritage list after a survey by a UNESCO team in 2017.
The High Court has expressed concern at the violations of the rules of the coastal regulation zone (CRZ), said environmentalists. Environmentalists Hemanta Kumar Rout, Ashok Chandra Swain and Seikh Chand said the coastal pockets have been destroyed by these prawn gherries.
They have destroyed around 60 sqkm of mangroves over last ten years. The medicines and chemicals used by these prawn gherries are washed into rivers and the sea. Their toxicity kills marine creatures.
The prawn gherries are responsible for mass deaths of Olive Ridley turtles at the world famous Gahirmatha in the BNP, they said. The prawn gherries have also caused the deaths of dolphins and other marine lives.
Their toxic gas has been polluting the local environment, resulting in the fall in the number of wildlife population. The salt water inundates large areas of arable land.
It may be mentioned that, the UNESCO team that had visited the BNP in 2016 to consider its suitability for the world heritage site had expressed disappointment at the prawn gherries.
In other words, it may be said that because of the prawn gherries, the BNP could not be considered for a world heritage site, said the green activists. At the behest of the Supreme Court, the Orissa High Court has directed the district administration to remove the prawn gherries in the BNP.
Despite this, the district administration has been procrastinating in this regard. The prawn gherries destroyed by the administration get revived after a few days. The gherries have been violating the CRZ rules.
Mamata Mohapatra, district fishery officer, said 729 prawn gherries have got permission to operate in the coastal region of the BNP. However, the remaining gherries are illegal, she said. In case of violations of the CRZ norms, the prawn gherri owners will get three years jail or pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh, she said.
Deputy Collector Niranjan Behera said the district administration has been laying a lot of stress on the removal of illegal prawn gherries in the BNP.
Many gherries have been removed in the past. Recently, criminal cases have been registered against 141 people, he said, adding razing of prawn gherries would resume from Monday.
PNN
