Balasore: River Budhabalanga has been changing its course for around two decades posing a threat to villages like Kathapal, Jagannathpur, Manikula and Nalkul in Gopinathpur panchayat of Balasore district.
Villagers said that even though the river was threatening their villages the government had done nothing to help them.
Reports said there was a village named Bhimadia on the banks of Budhabalanga. It vanished into the river long ago. Around 300 families used to live in the village. After losing their houses and farms, the villagers are now living elsewhere. But the administration has no records about them.
Nalkuli village is now in danger of being swallowed up by the river. The river is gradually inching closer to this village. Villagers feel threatened as the river is changing its course slowly.
The people of several riparian villages have long been demanding construction of a spur and stone-packing of embankments to check erosion by the river.
The river is eroding its banks near Nalkuli. An area of about half a km near the village has been lost to the river. During monsoons, people panic whenever the river submerges villages.
Local residents say that around 300 families used to stay in the village. Now only 70 families remain. Scores of families have left the village. Farmlands have been swallowed by the river destroying livelihoods.
Locals said the river was once a boon for them. They used to raise crops on the fertile land on its banks. Now the changing course of the river is threatening their very existence.
Many villagers do not have valid records of their lands and houses. As a result they do not get government benefits. They had earlier drawn the attention of the Collector and the BDO towards their plight, but nothing was done, said former sarpanch Brundaban Rout.
Senior citizens like Karunakar Pradhan, Kartik Rout, Bijendra Pradhan, Rabindra Khuntia, Trilochan Biswal, Achyuta Das, Suryakant Pradhan, Shankara Majhi, Bela Das, Sabitri Rout and Premalata Parida said the river’s banks should be strengthened before the monsoons.
The water resources department had carried out stone-packing on the riverbank in 2005-2006. Some part of the work was abandoned later.
A part of the coast canal embankment at Kathapal had caved in in 2013, but it was not repaired.
Locals said if there are massive floods, villages like Manikula, Jagannathpur, Kathpal and Nalkuli will get cut off. Around 3,000 people are likely to be affected in such a case.
Niranjan Mahalik, engineer of the water resources division, said the administration was aware of the problems of the villagers.
A technical team will carry out a survey on the embankment, and a report will be submitted to NABARD, he added.