BERHAMPUR: The arrival of monsoons may have brought relief from the blistering heat, but the threat of floods along with fast-eroding sea and river banks have spelt sleepless nights for people in coastal areas of Ganjam district. While Ganjam is prone to cyclones, floods and natural disasters, a lot of localities in coastal villages are also facing a serious threat of the advancing sea reportedly due to a lack of preventive measures by the district administration.
Sources said Chikiti and Ganjam blocks are the worst affected by sea erosion and the situation becomes alarming during rains. Ramayapatana, Chandanbada and Alatpur in Chikiti and Podempeta in Ganjam have been facing the fury of the sea for the last 15 years and over 100 houses including pucca ones were washed away in the areas during monsoons.
The State government had made provisions to rehabilitate victims and initiate preventive measures soon after but there has been little progress due to a lack of interest by authorities concerned. After Phailin struck in 2013, 16,707 families across five blocks - Ganjam, Khalikote, Chhatrapur, Rangeilunda and Chikiti - were identified for rehabilitation in nine ORDP colonies jointly funded by the World Bank and State government on a 70:30 sharing basis. Accordingly, the sites for houses were identified at safer places within 5 km from the high tide line and construction started in 2014. Even an owner-driven construction of houses (ODCH) approach was adopted and each beneficiary was allotted `3 lakh to construct a 294 sq ft house. While nearly 15,185 families got houses in the last seven years, most of them relocated to other places because basic infrastructure like drainage, power and drinking water are lacking due to the absence of follow-up action by the administration.
As a result, the majority of houses in the rehabilitation colonies remained unoccupied and became hub of criminal activities. In Ramayapatana and Chandanbada villages, the diversion of the Bahuda river mouth is another reason for the entry of water apart from the advancing sea. Villagers of Surala and Patisunapur had also diverted the river mouth of around one km from its original location for fish farming. Now, the nullah of the Bahuda river remains around 50 meters from the sea.
As per reports, the proposed 1,200-metre-long guard wall to prevent the entry of seawater into these villages is pending approval too even after a team from the World Bank had assessed the modalities in 2019.
Meanwhile, marine science experts claimed during the last decade, tidal waves have eroded around 200 metres of the beaches in Ganjam. The former head of the Department of Marine Science at Berhampur University Prof Ramchandra Panigrahy said erosion usually occurs between July and August on the Ganjam coast. Rampant deforestation in coastal areas has also resulted in erosion, he added.