Kendrapara: Many villagers earlier displaced from Satabhaya area in Rajnagar block of Kendrapara raised their voices Sunday against admin neglect alleging that they have been living sans livelihoods.
“After displacement from the ancestral lands, our lives were saved. However, we lost the livelihoods. It has become very difficult for us to manage families and meet household expenses,” some locals rued.
A source said that the erstwhile residents of Satabhaya cluster village were rehabilitated in Gupti and Bagapatia. They have been provided with some basic amenities, but much more is needed to be done.
At the time of rehabilitation, each of Satabhaya villagers had got just 10 decimals of land at the designated colonies in Gupti and Bagapatia to construct a house to reside. On the contrary, erstwhile Satabhaya village was a fertile region for carrying out all agricultural activities.
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Besides, Biju pucca ghar, electricity, drinking water, road and school including Anganwadi centre were provided, the source added.
“Without a stable source of earning, many of us have migrated to other states including Kerala and Tamil Nadu in search of work and turned migrant labourers,” several residents in Bagapatia stated.
Residents of Bagapatia rehabilitation colony are yet to be issued their Records of Right (RORs). Hence, they are in apprehension that the district administration may ask them at any time to vacate as they have not been recognised as bonafide owners of respective lands.
It is pertinent to mention here that Satabhaya previously was a cluster of seven villages. Due to major changes in the local environment, especially sea incursion, the number has now come down to two.
After long days of demand, the residents of sea-ravaged Satabhaya panchayat were rehabilitated by the Odisha government in 2012.
Satabhaya and Kanpur villages still exist and the five other villages namely Gobindpur, Mohanpur, Chintamanipur, Bada Gahirmatha and Kharikula were gradually washed away due to the sea incursion.
Descendants of the former ruler of Kanika had established the cluster of villages constituting a panchayat in the coastline of Bay of Bengal. Satabhaya was then a large village owned by seven royal brothers.
At the entrance of this cluster village was the shrine of presiding deity goddess Panchu Barahi. The state government had rehabilitated as many as 571 families of Satabhaya cluster in Kendrapara district.
PNN