Bhubaneswar: Kendrapara’s Satabhaya and Pentha sea beaches have experienced the highest level of coastal erosion in Odisha, according to data shared by the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister (of State) Ashwini Kumar Choubey in Lok Sabha, recently.
With a total erosion of 44,94,576.08 square metre, the Satabhaya beach has lost the most amount of land to sea, while the Pentha beach has lost a total of 36,45,514.06 square metre. Similarly, Aryapalli beach in Ganjam has suffered erosion of 6,76,471.18 square metre and the Golden Beach in Puri lost 3,78,979.57 square metre.
“Some stretches of India’s shoreline are subject to varying degrees of erosion due to natural causes or anthropogenic activities. The erosion does impact communities residing in the vulnerable areas, including fishermen,” said Choubey in a reply to Sundargarh MP Jual Oram’s queries about coastal erosion and the government’s response in this regard.
The minister informed that the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences has monitored shoreline changes in the country and observed that 33.6 per cent of India’s coastline is vulnerable to erosion, while 26.9 per cent is under accretion and 39.6 per cent is in stable condition.
As per the data, out of the 21 beaches monitored by NCCR, while seven beaches have seen erosion over time, 14 have experienced accretion (deposition driven by tides).
Hukitola beach in Kendrapara has seen the highest level of accretion (deposition driven by tides) in the state, with the beach gaining 56,51,304.28 square metres.
Similarly, the Dagara beach has seen 38,154,27 square metre accretion while the Satpada beach in Puri has witnessed addition of 11,90,005.73 square metres. Though both erosion and accretion are natural processes and happen simultaneously, in Odisha, erosion has been destructive in places like Satabhaya.
“Satabhaya has already been eaten up by the sea. People from seven villages have been shifted to the Bagapatia rehabilitation colony. In Pentha, though geosynthetic tube treatment has been done to prevent erosion, the area is experiencing damages and in future the force of the sea will overwhelm all these preventive measures,” said Odisha Environmental Society secretary Jaya Krushna Panigrahi.
In his reply, Choubey informed the House that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFFCC) has framed a national strategy for coastal protection with guidelines for all coastal states. Further, chief secretaries of all the coastal states have been requested to finalise their respective Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMPs).
However, Panigrahi said World Bank has ceased funding the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (ICZMP) in Odisha. And because of erosion, coastal ecosystem is losing its resilience, while due to more frequent natural disasters brought by climate change the coastal people’s livelihoods are under threat.
“I would suggest the government to constitute a state-level experts’ committee to regularly survey the coastline and recommend necessary actions to prevent erosion and livelihood loss,” he added.
Beach facts: Out of the 21 beaches in Odisha monitored by the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), seven have seen erosion over time, while 14 have experienced accretion (deposition driven by tides), according to data shared by Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister (of State) Ashwini Kumar Choubey in Lok Sabha.
PNN