Dhenkanal: Despite the fury each of the major cyclones to have hit the state have brought to bear, neither of them could do major damage in Dhenkanal town – thanks to its protective cover in ‘Paniohala’ hill.
Whether the 1999 Super Cyclone, Phailin, Hudhud, Titli or the recent Fani, while each of them managed to devastate most parts of the state, they barely had any impact on this town as nature’s gift Paniohala was there protecting the town against its own vengeance.
Locals say Dhenknal town is surrounded by four hills on each of its sides — Megha to the East, Korian to West, Ranja to North and Paniohala to the South. Out of these four, Paniohala — which stretches from College Square to Deula Sahi — a five-kilometer-long distance is always special to the locals.
According to them, the administration had warned them of the gales causing devastation in the town before the Super Cyclone. While it came to be true for rest of the district, it could not do much damage to the town – as had been estimated.
“The internecine wind speed was not felt here in the town which is why power supply was restored within three days and life returned to normal,” a resident pointed out praising the role of the hill.
Similarly, Fani has also failed to leave its trail of destruction in this town even as it ravaged Gondia, Bhuban and Sadar blocks severely.
“The effect of Fani in this town was next to nothing. On the very night, the power supply was resumed. We have none but Paniohala hill to thank for it,” another resident observed.
CESU executive engineer Swapnasarit Mishra said, “The hill has saved us. Otherwise, we would have still been reeling under problems like no power and water.”
On the occasion of Red Cross Day celebration at its district office premises ADM Purna Chandra Mishra while delivering his speech heaped praise on verdant Paniohala, christening it as the protective gear of Dhenkanal town.
Echoing Mishra’s accounts on the role of the hill, environmentalist Pradyumna Rath adds, “After landfall in Puri, Fani had moved towards Dhenkanal through Bhubanewar and Athagarh. However, the gale could not enter into the town because of Paniwohala and thus diverted towards Gondia. So the hill deserves the praise as ‘a wall of protection’.”
Protection apart, its meandering stream makes a big difference to this town during these summer days as the cool breeze keeps the town far more habitable as compared to other places in this region.
According to researcher Antaryami Mishra, in bygone days, people were reasonably certain of imminent rainfall if they saw cloud cover over this hill.
Locals often tell the story of the then Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare stopping by at the ‘Pantha Nivas’ while he was passing through the town. During his brief stay, mesmerised by the salubrious green surrounding of the hill, he extolled it as ‘Nature’s Paradise’. This incident has always been put forth by the residents here to substantiate the features of their town and rightly so.
What’s not to love when the nature gives the town so much and goes to the extent of protecting it from its own fury!
PNN