Kendrapara: Despite repeated government promises, a proposed mangrove afforestation project aimed at protecting coastal regions in Kendrapara district remains buried in official files, even as rising sea levels continue to threaten local villages.
According to reports, rapid coastal erosion due to frequent tidal surges, which is accelerating the destruction of coastal areas, has put islands like Nashi, Habelikati, Babubali, and Ekakula in the district at risk. This has sparked panic among the residents as little is being done to check the adverse impact of coastal erosion.
In 2017, the then state government announced plans to create 400 hectares of mangrove forest in the Rajnagar and Mahakalapara blocks of Kendrapara district. This project aimed to expand green cover to a total of 3,500 hectares along the coast and riverbanks. However, the initiative is yet to materialise beyond official announcements. The geo-synthetic tube wall project, built on Pentha coast to curb coastal erosion, has also failed to deliver expected results, reports said. Environmentalists, including Hemant Kumar Rout, Prabhu Prasad Mohapatra, Arun Kumar Kanungo, and Sheikh Chand, emphasise that creating mangrove forests within a 10-kilometer coastal buffer zone would significantly reduce the impact of natural disasters. They argue that while local authorities focus on disaster preparedness meetings and are seen on their toes in providing relief and rescue measures, long-term protective measures such as mangrove afforestation are being overlooked.
Residents of Kendrapara district face recurring natural disasters, including cyclones, floods, and the looming threat of tsunamis. Although the state government’s Forest and Environment department initially prioritised mangrove afforestation, the project has yet to be implemented effectively. The Green Mahanadi Mission was announced by the state government July 24, 2018. The mission was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, with a plan to plant more than 5 crore saplings across 41,000 hectares along the banks of the Mahanadi, Ib, and Tel rivers for afforestation. Although the Mahanadi River flows through Kendrapara district, no specific locations were identified for this initiative in the past five years. The expansion of shrimp farms and encroachments in coastal areas has been destroying mangrove forests.
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Due to rapid coastal erosion, five revenue villages in Satabhaya have already been submerged in the sea, and the sixth village, Barahipur, is expected to disappear from the revenue map soon, environmentalists say. Experts have consistently emphasised the urgent need to restore mangrove forests within a 10-kilometer radius of the coastline. Meanwhile, when contacted, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Nilu Mohapatra said that the district administration has prioritised afforestation efforts.
“Officials from the Forest and Panchayati Raj departments are implementing the initiative,” Mohapatra said, while highlighting the critical role mangrove forests play in mitigating the impact of cyclones and coastal disasters.
PNN
