Baliapal: As monsoon comes, people of Kankadapal, a village located on the banks of river Subarnarekha under Baliapal block in Balasore, get jittery. Fears of being washed away by floods haunt them because the village is vulnerable to erosion in the absence of stone packing.
Locals say their fears have been growing every year since the government has not strengthened the banks enough to protect the village from the fury of the river.
According to reports, the irrigation department had drawn up a master plan for stone-packing of the river banks at a cost of Rs 15 crore.
However, only Rs 3 crore was made available for the work, which is meagre to complete it. Only stone packing was carried out for a stretch of 400 metres.
Jaykrushna Behera, assistant engineer of the irrigation division, admitted that the river banks cannot be fully protected unless the stone-packing work is completed.
Over the years, the river has engulfed farmlands and homestead land of 117 families, leaving the remaining 200 families to bank on their fate.
Years ago, when the state government had proposed to set up a port on the river mouth of Subarnarekha, locals had a lot of dream about the area’s development and their own future. These families would have been relocated from the river banks to a safer place, besides being properly compensated. Sadly, the port dream has vanished.
Locals observed: “If the government is unable to set up the port project, it should at least protect us and our village from the approaching river by stone packing.”
Most often, sea waters during tides enter the village through the river mouth. The problem compounds during full moon and new moon days. The river mouth is in spate and saline water lashes the village.
Vast stretches of farmlands and houses have been part of the river over the years. The danger of being engulfed by the river hangs like a Damocles’ sword on their heads, the locals said.
Subal Mohanty, a villager, said years ago the river used to flow about 20 km away from the village, but it has now come closer due to persistent erosion. His house was washed away three times in the past. He now lives along with his family on the land of Ashok Mishra, a fellow villager.
Reports said, in the last five years, houses of 130 villagers including Laxmikant Das, Shyam Giri, Babula Mohanty, Purna Mohanty and Kanhu Mohanty were engulfed by the river.
Another villager, Mahendra Patra, has two acres of land near the river, but only 10 decimal of land is left.
The villagers said that the administration is in deep slumber while the river continues to erode into river banks.
They demanded that the government take up work for stone-packing for a stretch of 1500 metre on a war-footing to protect the village. PNN