Ganjam: The approaching cyclonic storm Fani has created panic in seaside villages and the salt farmers of Ganjam district as very little time is left for the cyclone to hit land.
The residents of seaside villages like Podampeta, Kantiagad and Gokharkuda are worried over the damage the cyclone might cause.
The fear has increased manifold with reports about the cyclone being circulated on social media, even though the area has not witnessed any rains Tuesday and Wednesday, Bateshwar Jena of Gokharkuda village said. However, the villagers are quite worried as the wind is picking up velocity in the area.
Acting as per directions of the Collector, the tehsil and block officials are asking fishermen in the area through public address systems not to venture into the sea for fishing as the sea is turbulent.
Tehsildar Abani Kumar Sahu and BDO Jyoti Shankar Ray are visiting villages and taking stock of evacuation and relief measures. They are also visiting cyclone relief shelters and overseeing the shifting of people to the centres from low lying areas.
The salt farmers in the block are panicky as they fear that the rains and winds might wash away their salt fields.
Salt farmer Brundaban Sahu of Puintola village said the strong winds will blow away their salt fields and the rains and floods will damage the salt.
He said salt cultivation in the area was getting affected during summer since five years due to one reason or other. However, this year the cultivation was good and they were expecting a good harvest when the cyclonic storm came as a bolt from the blue.
Sahu said that if the cyclone hits salt farmers will go bankrupt and will be left with no livelihood.