KENDRAPARA: The district administration was forced to halt a demolition drive against illegal shrimp farms inside Bhitarkanika National Park after local residents including women and schoolchildren opposed the action at Karandia Patana village under Mahakalapada forest range on Wednesday.
According to reports, officials accompanied by the local police and a magistrate reached the village to dismantle the illegal shrimp gheris spread over nearly 113 hectare of forest land. However, the operation was suspended after a large number of shrimp farm owners and villagers gathered at the site and blocked the approach road.
Assistant conservator of forests (ACF), Bhitarkanika Manas Kumar Das said, “As soon as we arrived to demolish the illegal shrimp farms, the encroachers and local villagers including many women and children gathered in large numbers and obstructed the drive.”
Das said the demolition drive has been postponed and not cancelled. “After discussions with senior district officials, we have temporarily halted the operation. We will soon mobilise additional police force and resume the drive to demolish all illegal shrimp farms inside the park,” he said.
According to forest officials, all shrimp farms operating within the protected area violate the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms. Prawn farms located along rivers, creeks and canals within five km of the high tide line are required to obtain Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA) registration.
Farms operating without registration are considered illegal and are liable for demolition. The farm owners can face imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh under the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, 2005.
The officials said untreated effluents from the shrimp farms are discharged into nearby rivers and ponds, polluting groundwater and posing a serious threat to the fragile mangrove ecosystem. After demolition of the illegal prawn gheris, the Forest department will restore the encroached areas by planting mangrove saplings, they added.