Kendrapara/Rajnagar: Despite a host of steps being taken by the government for extensive plantation and protection of forests, the ecology and sensitive biodiversity of Bhitarkanika National Park are facing continuous threats of serious damage due to human interference. In a fresh instance, five hotels have been illegally constructed on forest land in Dangamal and Bankual, the entry points of the national park, for tourists flocking to Bhitarkanika.
Despite the establishment of restaurant cottages to three-storeyed hotels in the sanctuary, Rajnagar forest division and tehsil administrations are sitting idle instead of taking administrative action. In this connection, members of Bhitarkanika Suraksha Samiti — Sanjay Kumar Bag, Pabitra Sethi, Ranjan Pradhan, Madhab Sethi, Soumya Ranjan Choudhury, Debadatta Sethi, Jagbandhu Khatua, Surya Narayan Mishra, Sudam Kumar Ojha, Abhay Kumar Raut, Raghavendra Mohanty, Liton Sethi, Jagabandhu Das, Shambhu Mandal, Vivekananda Das, Sahadeb Sethi, Debabrata Mishra, Debashis Raul — Thursday met Rajnagar tehsildar Ajay Kumar Mohanty and Divisional Forest Officer Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav along with proof and demanded action against the illegal hotels. Giving an ultimatum, they warned the officials that they would be forced to take to agitation if the illegal hotels were not removed within seven days. As per the complaint of Bhitarkanika Suraksha Samiti, Hotel Bhitarkanika has been constructed on the forest land under Bankual Mauza Khata No 7 and Plot No 92.
Similarly, Hotel Red Crab has been erected on forest-type land under Bankual Mauza Khata No 7 and Plot No 39. A three-storeyed hotel Kanika Sundari and its cottages have been built on three plots of forest land under Bankual Mauza Khata No 7 Plot No 85, Khata No 9 Plot No 86, and Khata No 7 Plot No 86. Furthermore, Hotel Satyapriya has been constructed on Bankual Mauza forest land, Hotel Mangrove Pitta Homestay has been built under Dangamal Mauza, Khata No 246, Plot No 525 and on the canal in front of it under Durgaprasad Mauza. These four hotels have been erected entirely on forest-type land and government land under Dangamal and Durgaprasad Mauza. Hotels and resorts have mushroomed on government and forest land, despite absence of even an inch of private land or any land patta. However, the administration has remained silent without taking any action. This has created sharp resentment and anger among the residents.
On the other hand, Congress leader Bidhu Bhushan Mahapatra, Bhagirathi Jena and social worker Bhubaneswar Pradhan have said that Bankual village is situated very close to the national park. This village comes under the Eco-Sensitive Zone of Bhitarkanika as recently declared by the Central government. Complaints were raised in October 2023 regarding presence of Swad Hotel on uninhabited and cemetery land despite a ban on new construction in the area. The DFO and local tehsildar were also given a memorandum to investigate the type and location of the land and take action. Even after of frequent agitations over such irregularities, nothing has been achieved. Nowadays, there is a buzz on social media calling for action against the wrongdoers after proper investigation into the location of the land and the ownership. The matter of Swad Hotel came to the fore on social media after an inquiry with the local tehsildar Ajay Kumar Mohanty in this regard. Mohanty said the matter will be investigated soon and appropriate action will be taken.