Press Trust Of India
Kendrapara, Dec 14: As the sea is “turning violent” and eating into their land, people of Satabhaya in this district are stuck between government “apathy” and nature’s scourge.
People of the area are living on the edge of sea, which they say has turned violent. “Time is ripe to leave the place or else the surging sea will eat us up as it has done with our ancestral land. We watch helplessly as the sea strides towards our places of living almost on a daily basis,” Rajiv Lochan Hota, a local, said.
Cyclone Hudhud of October 12 has imperiled the people further. Massive sand dunes that earlier acted as a protective barrier against the onslaught of sea are falling into pieces. “People are hopelessly exposed to tidal waves as sand dunes are steadily getting fragmented. It’s a danger signal. There is human settlement now only in Satabhaya, Barahipur and Magarkanda. The cyclone has burst apart the sand dunes, opening gates for ingress of seawater,” described Satabhaya sarpanch, Nigamanand Rout. The sea has advanced six km into this panchayat over three-and-half-a-decade. Hamlets and agriculture land are now under the sea’s lap, he added.
Kanhupur hamlet has already been gobbled up in the past six years. It is a matter of time that the remaining tracts of human civilisation in Satabhaya would be consumed by sea, villagers said. “I am a mute witness to sea’s fury. Our homes and fields have all gone under the seabed. I was native of Mahanipur. That is now under seawater. Similarly, sea has gobbled up Kualiora, Gobindpur, Sanakanhupur, and Kharikula,” said Krushna C Behera, a displaced villager now living in Barahipur. The government has faced innumerable anti-displacement movements in different districts. The one by villagers of Satabhaya and Kanhupur is on the contrary for displacement. The decision to relocate 571 families living in the vulnerable coastal villages was taken in 2008 at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Collector Pramod Kumar Das said, “Satabhaya is no longer safe for living. There are reports of people voluntarily shifting to safer places. Plan to rehabilitate the affected families in Satabhayaya stays on top of our agenda. The land acquisition process for the rehabilitation colony at Bagapatia has ended.” Work for construction of roads, houses and filling up of low-lying portion of the colony would get underway shortly, he added.
However, residents of Satabhaya feel the other way. They allege the resettlement plan is yet to be fulfilled. According to Brahmananda Jena,of Barahipur, “Though the administration had announced that the affected families will be relocated to Bagapatia resettlement colony by March 31, 2013, nothing has been done so far.”
“The government is insensitive to our plight. During last election, politicians had raked up the issue. However, after the poll was over, the plan was again relegated to the rear,” rued Sudarshan Rout of Satabhaya.