Kendrapara (Odisha), Dec 8 (PTI) The authorities atBhitarkanika National Park and the revenue department ofOdisha's Kendrapara district have demolished 174 prawn dykesand reclaimed nearly 350 acres of encroached government landon the fringe of the swampy mangrove forest.
These plots were occupied by prawn farmers withoutauthorization for several years, Rajnagar Tehsildar KhirodKumar Behera said.
The construction of prawn dykes is unlawful as theseplots fall under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) areas. Thedemolition was undertaken over the last weekend along a 10-kmstretch from Khola to Talchua. As many as 174 dykes weredismantled, Behera said.
"The reclaimed patches are being taken up for mangroveregeneration programme so that prawn farmers do not get toreoccupy the areas. The mangrove plantation work would beginwithin a week," said Divisional Forest Officer, RajnagarMangrove (wildlife) Forest Division, Bimal Prasanna Acharya.
The reclaimed areas are conducive for mangroveregeneration as there is regular inflow of tidal waters.
In the past two years, the department had succeeded inregenerating mangrove species in about 300 hectares of denudedarea. These areas, once ravaged by prawn farming, now havelush-green mangrove species.
The scheme would be extended to other deforested areain phases and this will go a long way in arresting theencroached mangrove cover in Mahanadi deltaic region of thepark, he said.
Admitting that similar exercises undertaken in thepast had not been entirely successful in checking mangrovedegradation, he said the eviction drive is being launched in awell-oiled manner this time.
A task force comprising senior forest protectionofficials has been formed.
The government officials are also generating publicawareness on mangrove protection and people have startedrealising that the tropical tree is a natural barrier againsttidal surge and cyclones.
Green activists, however, are of the opinion thatlarge patches still continue to remain under unlawful andenvironmentally-damaging prawn cultivation.
"Influential land-grabbers and prawn mafias areinfringing Odisha land encroachment law. The revenuedepartment is empowered to evict them and institute criminalcases against the encroachers, while the forest officials arealso empowered to demolish the gheries," environment activistBiswajit Mohanty alleged. PTI COR SKN MMRMS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.