KENDRAPARA: The district administration has shifted all the five deities from the 400-year-old Ma Panchubarahi temple from the erosion-hit Satabhaya village to the rehabilitation colony at Bagapatia, 12 km from the coast, amid heavy security and religious fervour on Friday. The deities were transported in a smooth and swift operation by the villagers under the guidance of the district administration and Shivendra Narayan Bhanjadeo, scion of royal family of Rajkanika and trustees of the temple.
Sculptors and villagers removed the deities from the pedestal of the temple and placed them on five vehicles decorated with flowers for their journey from Satabhaya to Bagapatia. While the idols were ceremoniously placed in the newly-built temple at Bagapatia amidst special pujas and purification ceremony, the old temple structure at Satabhaya was locked, said Sudarshan Rout, a member of the managing committee of the temple.
The authorities used two big boats to ferry the deities in five four-wheelers and crossed the crocodile-infested Bausanali river to reach Bagapatia. A week-long ‘jagyan’ was started on Friday with great religious fervour and gaiety at Bagapatia to observe the arrival of the deities at the new temple.
“Our ancestors had built the temple. On Thursday, we offered prayer to the deities and after obtaining permission from the priestesses, we launched shifting work of the Goddesses on Friday,” said Bhanjadeo.
“Erosion has washed away our houses, agricultural land and trees in the last two decades. For this reason, we shifted our houses thrice. Last year, erosion had taken a serious turn threatening Maa Panchubarahi temple. We have lost all our hopes to stay in this village. We got a house at the rehabilitation colony last year. But we were staying in Satabhaya to worship the deities. On Friday, we bid adieu to the Goddesses from Satabhaya. Now, we will also leave this village soon,” said Bengalata Dalei, one of the priestesses of the temple.
“The temple, along with the village, will disappear beneath the rising and advancing sea shortly. For this, we shifted the deities from the temple to the rehabilitation colony at Bagapata. We have built a new temple at a cost of around `15 lakh at Bagapatia to instal the 1.5 tonne Goddesses made of black granite. Last year, we had assured the villagers to shift the temple and rehabilitate the villagers before the arrival of monsoon. The administration also allotted houses to 571 villagers of Satabhaya at Bagapatia,” said Collector Reghu G.
The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) has assisted rehabilitation of 571 beneficiaries of the sea-eroded village. All the beneficiaries are being provided with housing assistance under Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana of the Government and other amenities like internal road, drinking water facilities and electricity for a smooth living. A multi-purpose cyclone shelter has been constructed out of CMRF at Bagapatia for proctection during natural calamities.
Disappearing village
Due to sea erosion, Satabhaya’s areas have been reduced from 350 sq km in 1930 settlement map to around 140 sq km
In 1992,
the State Government had decided to rehabilitate the erosion-hit villagers of Satabhaya at a safer place in Bagapatia
On June 8, 2011, the district administration and the local MLA had laid a foundation stone for its construction
571
erosion-hit families with a population of 3,243 of Satabhaya will be rehabilitated on 133 acres of land in Bagapatia