Kendrapada: Residents of erosion-hit Satabhaya gram panchayat, including women, began an indefinite hunger strike outside the Kendrapada district collector’s office on Friday, demanding immediate rehabilitation to safer locations.
While the district administration relocated 571 families to the Bagapatia rehabilitation colony in 2018, around 40 families still remain in Satabhaya, merely yards away from the encroaching sea. “We are spending sleepless nights as the sea continues to devour Satabhaya,” said 75-year-old Dharanidhar Nayak, a resident.
Slow pace of the rehabilitation plan has sparked protests by villagers. “The govt is playing with our lives by not rehabilitating us at Bagapatia,” said Anita Mallick (46), one of the protesters.
Over the past three decades, Satabhaya has witnessed dramatic coastal erosion. Once a cluster of seven villages, only a small portion remains habitable now. The Bay of Bengal has already consumed five villages — Gobindapur, Mohanpur, Chintamanipur, Badagahiramatha, Sanagahirmatha, Kanhupur and Kharikula.
The situation has severely impacted local agriculture and livestock. “Due to seawater intrusion, our agricultural land has turned saline. Cattle are struggling to find fodder due to salinisation of grazing fields,” explains Jiban Mallick (56).
Last year, the 500-year-old Ma Panchubarahi temple succumbed to the advancing sea.
When contacted, additional district magistrate Nilu Mohapatra said, “We have received applications from 40 families for rehabilitation at Bagapatia. The district administration will process their requests after verification.”