Mahakalapara: With winter setting in, tourists have been thronging the historically important Hukitola island for picnics and to enjoy the picturesque location in the lap of nature. This island falls under the jurisdiction of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary which is famous for the nesting of the rare Olive Ridley turtles. However, visitors are forced to take perilous rides in rickety country boats operating sans registration to reach the island in the absence of government boats. These private boats lack essential equipment like life jackets in case there is any mishap.
With owners eyeing big bucks, these boats are always overloaded being even more prone to accidents. The administration does not seem to have learnt a lesson from the tragedy in which 10 tourists, including eight children, drowned after the boat they were travelling in overturned in Nipania Khola River while returning from Hukitola island, January 2, 2019. The boat was overloaded with 50 picnickers from Kujang area in the nearby Jagatsinghpur district. The ban on using fishing boats and unsafe vessels for ferrying tourists to Hukitola Island is flouted with impunity. It is alleged that the district administration and the Forest department are aware of the unsafe boat rides and the lurking danger but have done little to safeguard the lives of the tourists. A week back, some picnickers of the Ramnagar area were returning home in a private fishing boat which got stuck mid-sea after the boat’s engine developed a technical snag. They finally got a new lease of life after a joint team of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary personnel and Jambu police personnel rescued and brought them to the shore along with the defunct boat.
Reports said that the famed Hukitola island is situated under Mahakalapara block in Kendrapara District located close to Jambu island in the Bay of Bengal. The historic building here has a plinth area of over 7,000 sq ft and was constructed on the island during the British rule in 1866-67 during the infamous ‘Naanka’ famine. This large building was used to store rice imported from Burma and other places through sea route and it bears testimony to the advancement made in architecture in the 19th century. The monument, a majestic building, has an underground rainwater harvesting system and is a symbol of the state’s glorious past in maritime trade. The place attracts students, scholars, and history and nature lovers throughout the year and particularly during the winter season owing to its scenic location and historical significance. The port and the palace started losing importance in 1924 when the Britishers established a port at false point. This island witnesses maximum footfall mostly during Christmas to New Year day. The vast expanse of mangrove forests here, dolphin sightings in the blue waters of the sea and the sight of red and horseshoe crabs on the sandy beach fascinate the nature lovers and picnickers. However, one has to take a boat from Jambu jetty and travel for 10 km to reach Hukitola.
Similarly, one can also travel by a boat via Ramnagar, Kharinasi and Paradip river mouth to reach Hukitola. The tourists and picnickers while travelling by boats get to enjoy the scenic beauty of mangrove forests, spotted deer, colourful migratory birds and the dreaded crocodiles basking on the river islets. However, the tourists are forced to endanger their lives by travelling in registrationless private boats to get to the island. Social activists Lakhsmikanta Swain, Biranchi Narayan Das and Nath Kumar Bhol have demanded the state government to intervene and provide registered boats with all life saving equipment to ferry the tourists to Hukitola. Gahirmatha forest ranger Pradosh Kumar Moharana assured that the safety check of the tourist boats will be intensified in coming days.