Kendrapara: People of 64 villages living along 48 km-long coastline in this district are in a state of panic over the constant erosion of shorelines and Tsunami threat ahead of the rainy season.
The state government had rushed a team of experts to study sea erosion and its prevention last year when surging sea waves lashed Puri beach. However, the same urgency by the government is missing here, locals said.
“Several villages in the six kilometer radius close to the coastline have been vanished from the map in the last four decades. Forget about the properties, villages like Govindpur, Kharikul, Mahanipur, Kaunria and Sarapada are no more in existence,” Nirakar Swain, a resident of Barahipur under Satabhaya panchayat said.
According to reports, the state government first thought about the rehabilitation of the people living close to the coast following a huge loss of lives and properties during the severe cyclone in 1971. However, the execution of the proposal began only in June 2011 after 40 years of that calamity. The administration made a plan to shift Satabhaya residents to Bagapatia. But this seems not possible ahead of this rainy season as the infrastructural works are yet to be completed.
Umesh Nayak, a resident of Pentha village under Rajnagar block, which often bears the fury of the sea, said a geotube wall at a cost of Rs 33 crore was erected to prevent tidal erosion in the area. However, the burst of a tube during the construction and snapping of a thread of gabion box are major causes of worries for the locals, he added.
The 505-metre-long wall was set up to protect over 41,000 people of 56 villages and check soil erosion due to tidal waves. With experts expressing doubt over the durability of the geotube wall following the snapping of the threads, construction of stone guard wall has begun recently, it was learnt.
According to environmentalist Ashis Kumar Senapati, flora and fauna on the coast and Bhitarkanika National Park get devastated every year during the rainy season. The shoreline at Gahirmatha is also getting shrunk due to tidal surge. This apart, farmers are reluctant to go for cultivation due to gush of saline water into their farmland, Senapati observed.
Meanwhile, it is alleged the administration has not taken adequate measures to protect the lives of coastal inhabitants.
“At least 20 Tsunami alert centers were to be set up at 20 places under Mahakalapara and Rajnagar blocks of Kendrapara district. However, the proposals remained only on papers,” Haripada Mandal of Batighar village under Mahakalapara block said.
When contacted, sub-collector Kanhucharan Dheer said, being located on the coast, Kendrapara district is prone to natural calamities like floods, cyclones and Tsunamis. The administration is aware of the issue as 64 villages have been identified as Tsunami-prone, Dheer added. PNN
