Kendrapara: As the cyclonic storm ‘Yaas’ over the Bay of Bengal is likely to make a landfall somewhere between north Odisha and Bangladesh coast May 26, people in most coastal pockets of the state were panicked. The fear of the cyclone has struck them at a time when they have been battling against the deadly Covid-19 virus.
Since large-scale devastations wreaked by the 1999 Super Cyclone, people in this coastal district remain by and large panicky ahead of the actual strike of cyclones. They are worried about the severity of the disaster. They had also faced the fury of Amphan in 2020, losing lives and properties.
On the other hand, cyclone shelters, which had been built after the Super Cylone in the district, are a great asset for the people for temporary accommodation.
But the problem is that 312 cyclone shelters have been declared as unsafe by the district administration. In such situation, questions remain that how people can have safe accommodation at the time of this cyclone.
Moreover, there are 20 alert centres in the fringe areas in the coastal district, but 10 are not in a position to sound siren in case of emergency. It was alleged that though the coastal district has been facing the fury of cyclones almost every year, authorities have failed to maintain cyclone shelters and warning systems routinely.
The tidal surge during the cyclone is another cause of worry for the people living in areas close to the coast. Conscious citizens observed that though the district natural disaster management committee has been holding meetings, no step has been taken to repair the weak embankments whose strengthening matters most for deterring the surge.
People from different walks of life – intellectual Sibashish Mohanty, environmentalists Hemanta Kumar Rout, Srikant Nayak, social activists Pratap Chandra Tripathy and Prakash Chandra Das – lamented that people have been suffering a lot due to cyclones and floods. Political leaders and the administration have failed to redress the issues through infrastructure development and their maintenance.
If the cyclone becomes severe, many areas in the district are likely to face deluge. “The authorities of the district water resources division, Mahanadi Division, Chitrotpala division and the drainage division should have taken proactive measures every year well before the monsoon. By May, all weak embankments should have been repaired. But many embankments are weak and can’t stand against strong surge of water. Even at the slightest floods, they may crumble,” they pointed out.
Coastal erosion still goes on as usual. There has been no concrete plan for massive plantation and regeneration of mangroves to stem the problem.
The mangrove forests along the coast have already suffered massive damage due to Titli in 2018, Fani in 2019 and Amphan in 2020. On the other hand, encroachment of forest land, mushrooming growth of prawn gherries on the forest land have been other major factors that quicken the coastal erosion process.
During Amphan, 11 alert centres in Rajnagar area and nine in Mahkalpara block could not sound siren for people living in coastal villages.
People in Ratapanga, Narasinghpur, Jambu, Tantiapal, Endulapur, Kaitha, Chinchiri, Pentha, Brahmansasan and Kandarapatia have been living in fear. 312 cyclone shelters have been in bad shape that may not work.
As for the cyclone, Collector Amrit Ruturaj said the district administration is ready to face possible cyclone. Multi-purpose cyclone shelters are being monitored while measures are being taken for evacuation, communication and healthcare, he added.
Under the influence of the cyclonic circulation, a low pressure area has formed over east-central Bay of Bengal. It will intensify into a cyclonic storm by May 24 and further into a very severe cyclonic storm.
PNN