KENDRAPARA: The unprecedented floods in Luna and Karandia rivers last month have aggravated soil erosion in Karandiapatana village under the Marsaghai block of the district. Due to the floods, the swirling rivers, and tributaries of Mahanadi, changed their course and wreaked havoc on the topography of Karandiapatana which has a population of around 2,000.
Rekha Sethi (25) said, “Karandia river has consumed most of my four-room thatched house. Now, only a little portion of the house remains. If the erosion is not checked soon, the entire village will be washed away within a few months.”Karandiapatana was flooded after the river breached its embankment on August 15 at the nearby Dihabalarampur village.
“The river was 300 metres away from my house before the flood. Now, it’s at a distance of only a few yards. My family lost our farmland 10 years back due to river erosion. We want to leave the village but we don’t know where to go?” Rekha added. Local sarpanch Bidulata Sethi said the river is inching closer with each passing day. Out of 200 families, around 60 have lost their houses and agricultural lands to the marching river in the last 10 years. Many families have left the village due to river erosion.
Ashok Sethi (55) said, “For a long time, we have been fighting a losing battle against the marching river. Karandia river is all set to gobble up our village but it seems the authorities concerned have turned a blind eye to our plight and the problem of soil erosion.”
Contacted, assistant engineer of Pundalo embankment Rajesh Nayak said erosion is a serious threat in the riverside villages. “The authorities have already completed stone-packing work to protect some of the villages. We will soon stone pack the river embankment at Karandiapatana to protect the village from the onslaught of Karandia,” he added.