PARADIP: Several fishermen and slum dwellers have taken refuge in vessels and temples in Paradip owing to the absence of cyclone shelters.
Sources said the Mahanadi river mouth near Nehrubangla in Paradip experiences higher cyclone intensity compared to other parts of Paradip. Nearly 3,000 people, including workers of Paradip Port, businessmen and other residents reside in the slums of Nehrubangla. Additionally, more than 5,000 crew, fishermen and employees of the fishing harbour have taken refuge at the fishing harbour.
Fishermen on 553 trawlers had returned to the harbour ahead of cyclone Dana. Out of 5,000 crew, nearly 2,000 are staying in their trawlers, risking their lives, while others have left the harbour. Sources said 11 trawlers from Andhra Pradesh, unable to return due to bad weather and stormy winds, have anchored at the harbour, along with seven others from the state which have anchored at Paradip Port.
Sources said the 3,000 slum dwellers of Nehrubangla have no access to cyclone shelter and have taken refuge in a temple. They lack drinking water, dry food and other necessities because officials are yet to reach out to them. Although the slum dwellers had requested the Paradip Port Authority and the administration to construct a cyclone shelter in Nehrubangla, nothing was done in this regard.
Sources said officials had advised the crew of fishing vessels not to stay in their trawlers for safety reasons, but several of them refused to leave due to the lack of adequate shelters in the area. While the office management society of the fishing harbour and the temporary shelter can accommodate only 500 to 800 people, there is insufficient space to shelter the nearly 2,000 crew members, forcing several of them to remain in their boats despite the risk.
President of Odisha Marine Fish Producers’ Association Srikant Parida said, “Our association has been demanding construction of a cyclone shelter at the fishing harbour since 2016. Although Rs 100 crore has been spent on development of the fishing harbour, our proposal to allocate funds for the shelter has yielded no result. The state government is emphasising on zero casualty but without infrastructure to shelter the fishermen, efforts by fisheries officials to raise awareness and encourage people to leave their trawlers are meaningless. We have arranged a temporary shelter for nearly 1,000 fishermen.”
District fisheries officer Reshma Singh stated, “Fisheries officials had tried to convince many fishermen and crew members to leave their boats and take shelter at safer places. At present, around 1,000 crew members, including those from Andhra Pradesh, are still staying in their respective trawlers. We have asked them to move to temporary shelters. There is no cyclone shelter in this area and the department will send a proposal to the government to establish one soon.”
Meanwhile, the administration has evacuated nearly 32,000 people from different villages of the district and accommodated them at 261 designated shelters. Collector J Sonal and other officials visited various cyclone shelters to ensure all necessary arrangements are in place for the safety of the local population.