Basudevpur: Prawn farming, though profitable in this part of the Bhadrak district, has taken its toll on water resources in the area.
Most parts of this block are close to the Bay of Bengal while rivers like Gamei, Mantei and Kansabansa crisscross the block before merging with the sea.
Besides, the East Coast Canal and several creeks flow through this block. Since sea water enters through these water bodies, water salinity has boosted prawn farming in the littoral pockets.
Over 100 prawn farms have been operating in various areas, drawing huge quantity of water at their will while farmers face a lot of difficulty in irrigating their paddy fields.
Many prawn farms have illegally mushroomed up on government land, on riverside, along the creeks and canals.
Locals say the prawn farmers have been rampantly exploiting valuable water resources without paying a penny to the government towards cess.
It is alleged some officials of the district administration and tehsil are hand in glove with influential prawn farmers against whom no action is taken. Prawn farmers grease the palms of officials for smooth business, it is alleged.
Currently, 34 big prawn farmers have been carrying out their export business. They have spread their activities in vast areas on both sides of Gamei in Chudamani and Adhuna panchayat.
Locals say, “Water is pumped out from Gamei and then channeled to the farms. Prawn gherries have spread over 100 acres of land in Gamei river basin area. During high tide, sea water surges through rivers and canals. And prawn farmers at this time lift saline water from rivers and creeks into their farms.”
Chudamani sarpanch Agani Jena observed the government should fix water cess on prawn farmers.
As prawn farming is booming in the area, traditional paddy cultivation is facing threat from it, farmers say. More and more patches of farmland are giving way to prawn farming while water resources get exploited, but the administration is doing little in this regard, they claimed.
District emergency officer Rajendra Kumar Panda said there are restrictions on use of river and sea water. No unit in Basudevpur has been permitted to use water of rivers for their activities, he added.
Tehsildar Gopinath Kunar claimed that he has not received any complaint about the use of river water for prawn farming. “If I get one, I will certainly look into the matter,” he said. PNN
