Ganjam: The Odisha government is constructing a bridge on Palur Saheb canal to facilitate movement of fishermen who have been evacuated from the erosion hit ‘Podampeta’ village to ‘New Podampeta’ village, sources said Tuesday. However, the construction of the bridge is causing huge difficulty to fishermen living in the same locality. The ‘New Podampeta’ village has been established under the Odisha Disaster Recovery Project (ODRP) scheme where the evacuated fishermen have been rehabilitated in fresh houses built for them. The building of the bridge is underway for which the construction company has encroached upon the canal route and piled up large number of sand bags. This has turned into a curse for 95 per cent of the fishermen who eke out their living from the nearby Chilika lake.
The affected fishermen are from Gajapati Nagar, Gourang Patna under Ganjam block, Rambha, Sabulia, Keshpur, Langaleswar of Khallikote block, Kumarpur, Patanasi Maleshwari, Khalamunha, Rasakudi, Balinasi, Haripur and Srirampur under Krushnaprasad block of Puri district. The Chilika lake lies to the north of the under-construction bridge and is around 10 km from the canal. Sand bags have obstructed the proper flow of water and its subsequent drainage from the canal. As a result, the water has become stagnant for the last six months leading to algae forming over it. The water has also turned toxic and unfit for consumption. Obstruction of water flow has also harmed the aquatic animals laying eggs near the Rushikulya river mouth. The eggs flow into the lake through the canal. A long pause in the flow of water has led to shortage of food for the fish population in the lake leading to a further decline in catch for the fishermen.
Fisherman Gourahari Behera of Gajapati Nagar under Ganjam block alleged that this development has hit them hard and most of the fishermen and their family members have migrated to other states and are working in various companies to earn a living. Behera pointed out that had the authorities taken steps to drain out the canal water through pipes before starting construction of the bridge, the present situation could have been avoided. He demanded that the bridge be completed as quickly as possible and removal of encroachments from the site of the canal.