Kendrapara: Nearly five years after the state government made announcements regarding the establishment of a much-awaited riverine port in this coastal district, the project has failed to make any headway, a report said Sunday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during his visit to Kendrapara district December 8, 2018 announced that a riverine port project will come up on Mahanadi near Akhadasali village under Mahakalapara block in Kendrapara district.
After the announcement, a special meeting was convened at Bhubaneswar where an estimate was made that Rs 2,110 crore will be spent for the construction of the riverine port in the first phase. It was stated that the proposed port project will also see an annual business of 18.43 million tons of cargo when it becomes operational. However, despite the declaration by the Chief Minister that the project will be completed in five years, the project has not made any real headway after the announcement.
Meanwhile, environmentalists and the local intelligentsia have differences in opinion over the riverine port project. Environmentalists claimed that the port, when functional, will destroy the bio-diversity in Bhitarkanika wetland while the local intelligentsia claimed that its establishment is necessary to bring in economic growth to the district. Arjun Mandal, member of district fishermen’s association said that the proposed riverine port project will destroy the livelihood of over 30,000 fishermen. He said that saline and freshwater fish are found in plenty in Mahanadi and its distributaries and related water bodies.
However, the catch from these rivers and nullahs will decline after the establishment of the port. The decline in fish catch will rob the people residing in over 20 villages of their livelihood. Environmentalist Hemant Kumar Rout said that the riverine port when constructed will impact the bio-diversity of Bhitarkanika adversely. The distance between the port and the nesting site of rare Olive Ridley turtles at Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary will be reduced which will be detrimental to the mating and nesting process of the sea turtles. The rare sea turtles will stop visiting this natural breeding site once the port comes up, he added.
Moreover, the port project will also destroy the natural mangrove cover on the coastlines which acts as a shield against ingression of tidal waves and natural calamities like tsunami and cyclonic storms, he added. Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of Wildlife Society of Odisha said the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had declared 192 villages in Bhitarkanika and Gahirmatha regions as eco-sensitive zones eight years back. The marine wildlife in the area will be seriously affected if the riverine port comes up at Akhadasali. District convener Pratap Chandra Mohanty of Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhiyan sought to differ and said that construction of the port at Akhadasali will result in economic development in the district when completed.
However, the announcement of the state government has proven to be an election gimmick as the dreams of port and industries are only shown to the residents when polls are around the corner. The state government had earlier announced Barunei port project in 2009 and a thermal power plant at Rajgarh in 2014, both of which are yet to be realised. Therefore, uncertainty hovers over the construction of a port at Akhadasali. Local intelligentsia Ganesh Chandra Samal, Amarbar Biswal, and Ashis Kumar Senapati said the port to be constructed in two phases will bring in direct and indirect employment for a minimum of 15,000 people. Moreover, small and medium industries will also come up which will result in economic growth. However, all those hopes will become a reality if the ambitious project sees the light of day.