Kendrapara: Promotion of fish farming by the state government has led to mushrooming of prawn gherries on over 15,000 hectare of land in Kendrapara district that have posed a serious threat to Bhitarkanika wetland. The fear is not unfounded as the toxic chemicals discharged by these gherries flow straight down into the sea and destroy the green cover and habitat of wildlife in the Bhitarkanika wetland.
As per reports, marine creatures and their habitats are the first casualty after the toxic effluents flow down into the sea. The Orissa High Court has expressed displeasure over the mushrooming prawn gherries and directed the district administration to remove the illegal gherries by identifying them with the help of drones.
Reports said export demand for Odisha’s saline fish has increased to 747 per cent during the last 10 years. Over 11,460 tonne marine fish were exported in financial year (FY) 2011-12 while the demand shot up to 97,125 tonne in FY 2022-23. The demand for marine fish from Odisha is so high that the area of cultivation has now reached 17,780 hectare as against 5,860 hectare earlier. The entire scenario changed after the state government asked people to take up fish cultivation as a means of livelihood and promoted it through various incentives.
As part of this programme, women SHGs, local fish farmers, cooperative societies, women cooperative bodies, and unemployed youths were encouraged to take up fish cultivation. However, farmers are more interested in prawn cultivation than freshwater fish cultivation with the district having a wellmarked coastline.
An estimated 10,000 farmers are into prawn cultivation on over 17, 780 hectare of land. Export value and high-profit margin have prompted the farmers to attach priority to prawn cultivation. They are using the seawater and other toxic chemicals to raise prawn which when discharged flows down into the sea and harms the marine ecosystem as well as the wildlife in Bhitarkanika wetland. Environmentalists Hemant Kumar Rout, Ashok Kumar Swain, Prabhu Prasad Mohapatra have expressed concern over the consequences of mushrooming prawn gherries. They alleged that the prawn gherries are destroying the environment of Bhitarkanika. They said that the prawn gherries approved by the state government have to close down first to save the Bhitarkanika wetland. Many farmers are also putting up illegal gherries due to the promotion and protection of the government-approved gheries. Amar Kumar Pradhan, president of Maa Matia Mangala Prawn Farmers’ Federation said that the state government has launched various schemes as part of self-employment and income generation programmes.
Pradhan said, more than 10,000 youths have got employment in prawn cultivation as it is a profitable business. The cultivation is being done as per the government guidelines and not done near rivers, government land, or forest land. He warned that the economic growth will take a beating if all the gherries are termed illegal and demolished. When contacted, district fisheries extension officer Shashank Sekhar Sahu said that all the gherries in the district are not illegal as many farmers and self-help groups have received permission from the Fisheries department. He said that his office has received hundreds of applications to set up prawn gherries but they are yet to be approved. He said that the district Collector has directed the tehsildar concerned to identify the illegal gherries and demolish them.