Kendrapara

Kendrapara, Dec 2 (LocalWire): Samarth Verma, Kendrapara’s new district collector who was recently transferred on Friday, has raised the issue of unstable tenures of the district magistrates of this coastal district.

As many as 45 collectors have been transferred in the last 27 years of the formation of the district.

The district has had 13 different collectors within the last six years.

Many locals have alleged that political motives are behind the frequent transfer of collectors.

“Kendrapara got its 45th Collector on Friday after the state government appointed Amrit Ruturaj, replacing Samarth Verma.

Frequent change of collectors affects ongoing developmental projects in the district, said Bijay Krushna Sahoo, the former chairman of Kendrapara municipality.

Samarth Verma remained the collector of Kendrapara from 21st June 2019 to 31st December 2020.

His predecessor, Prem Chandra Chaudhury, worked as the collector from 6th May 2019 to 21st June 2019, the shortest tenure of any district magistrate. Dasarathi Satapathy worked as the collector from 4th August 2018 to 5th May 2019.

Earlier, Reghu G worked as the collector from 26th April 2017 to 3rd August 2018. Muralidhar Mallick worked as the collector from 27th November 2016 to 21st April 2017. Debraj Senapati worked as the collector from April 2015 to September 2016.

“It is unjust on the part of the government to transfer collectors frequently in Kendrapara. The frequent changes in the top echelons of the district administration affect developmental works in the district.

While officers keep moving in and moving out, the problems of the people remain unattended.

Ruling party MLAs and leaders are forcing the senior officials to dance to their tunes by changing officials,” said Saroj Kanta Singh, a senior lawyer and the president of the district lawyers’ association.

LocalWire

Kendrapara, Dec 29 (LocalWire): 10 years ago, a 38-year-old man from Puri set out on a mission to plant trees across India.

Satyanarayan Dash, 48, belonging to the holy town of Puri has already planted 50,000 trees in 23 states and 4 union territories.

An architect and a Vastu expert, Dash launched his movement from Puri in 2010. He has named the campaign ‘Swarna Bharat Abhiyan’.

“My dream is to plant 5,00,000 trees during my lifetime. Many villagers thought that it was a ruse on my part to illegally acquire government land.

However, they are happy now as I have managed to introduce green cover on barren land,” he beamed.

Dash says that his work will contribute to the welfare, unity and economic growth of the country.

“Air pollution is a persistent issue and we can check it by increasing the green cover,” he said.

“I usually plant trees at offices, hospitals and religious places. It is high time for us to create awareness among the youth about the benefits of planting trees, as mankind has already destroyed a large chunk of this natural wealth in the name of development,” said Dash.

Dash has visited Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and other states and union territories.

He plans to cover Jammu and Kashmir and other north-east states in the next couple of years.

Notably, he spends money out of his own pocket to fund his travels and saplings.

LocalWire

Kendrapara, Dec 22 (LocalWire): National-award winning director Nila Madhab Panda’s first Odia film ‘Kalira Atita’, based on climate change, has been selected for screening in the Panorama section of the IFFI awards, 2020.

The International Film Festival of India 2020 has been postponed due to the COVID pandemic and will be held from January 16 and 24 in 2021.

The movie has been inspired by the prophecies of Achyutananda Kar, widely regarded as the Nostradamus of Odisha.

It revolves around a man from the Satabhaya village of Kendrapara district, Gunu, who returns to his village hoping to reunite with his family.

He finds that his village is submerged underwater due to a cyclone.

Gunu’s struggle to survive the fury of nature is a portrayal of emotional trauma and human triumph. Many villagers, including women and children of Satabhaya, have acted in the film.

Nila Madhab Panda said, “Kalira Atita is my first Odia film and I am really happy that it will begin its journey at the prestigious IFFI.

This is definitely good news for me and I hope the year ahead will bring more cheer.”

Panda says that the reason he wanted to make the film is that, for many people, climate change is still a future shock.

“This film emphasizes it as the harsh reality that it is, and that people are losing their lives and livelihood because of it.

A sea erosion hit tubewell of Satabhaya symbolizes the marching of the sea towards the village,” the director asserts.

LocalWire

Kendrapara, Dec 7 (LocalWire): A century-old colonial-era building at Ranapada locality within Kendrapara town, near river Gobari, is on the verge of collapse.

When the Kendrapara canal was dug in 1868 for the purposes of navigation and irrigation after the infamous drought ‘Naanka’ had devastated the state, the one-storied building having 12 rooms had been constructed to serve as a residence for the officials of the irrigation department, said Dr. Basudev Das, a researcher on Kendrapara.

The building, which covers an acre of land, was functioning as the official residence of the Sub-Divisional Officer of the irrigation department.

However, 5 years ago the irrigation department declared the building unsafe and moved the residence of the officer to another building.

Since then, local miscreants have ransacked the building on multiple occasions and taken away the Burmese teak made doors, windows and other accessories.

“The officials are not paying any heed to our pleas to renovate the building. We do not want the building to be demolished as many villagers saved their lives during 1967, 1971, and 1999 cyclones by staying here,” said Amir Ali, a local villager from Ranapada.

“Kendrapara has many significant heritage sites, including the 155-year-old Kendrapara high school, 122-year-old Diamond Jubilee Public library, 110-year-old palace in Rajkanika, 142-year-old Hukitola building, 145-year-old Jamboo building, a 186-year-old lighthouse in Batighar Gram Panchayat, 130-year-old Sun-Clock at Kendrapara town and others.

However, these structures need renovation and maintenance and it will not be long before they become irreparable.

The apathy of the government has left these structures languishing in neglect and facing the threat of being lost into oblivion,” said Biswanath Behera, a retired engineer from Kendrapara.

When contacted, Prabodha Kumar Rout, the Executive Engineer of the irrigation department of Kendrapara said, “The building will be demolished to give way to the new spacious quarters for the employees of the irrigation department.”

LocalWire

Kendrapara, Dec 3 (LocalWire): The population of many animals has marginally increased in the Bhitarkanika national park this year as per the recent mammal census report.

However, the park has recorded a drop in the total number of mammals this year as the number has decreased from 8,105 in 2019 to 7,904 this year, probably because of a drop in the numbers of wild boars and Rhesus macaques.

“The numbers of spotted deer increased by 10 this year while fishing cats were found to increase by 13.

While otters added 55 to their numbers this year, 9 more porcupines were counted,” said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the park Bikash Ranjan Dash.

The water bodies of Bhitarkanika are home to around 1700 salt-water crocodiles and the crocodiles are the only natural predator of spotted deer and wild boars in the park. Crocodiles do not have any significant impact on the population of deer and wild boars.

Spotted Deer are seen in herds of 10-30 containing two or three stags, but assemblage numbering several hundred is not uncommon in Bhitarkanika. The deer species is a prolific breeder,” added the forest officer.

Mammal census, especially that of spotted deer and wild boar is necessary, as many locals suffer crop loss due to these animals.

“However, the villagers rarely retaliate on rampaging animals as they know it is an offense under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 to attack or kill the animals,” added the officer.

LocalWire

Kendrapara, Nov 21 (LocalWire): The Rs-241-crore ambitious mega drinking water supply project, which aimed at providing water in the salinity hit coastal pockets of Kendrapara district, is moving at a snail’s pace.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone of the project in 2018 and promised to complete the project within two years. However, work is yet to be completed.

“Drinking water crisis has always remained a major issue in the seaside villages and this project aimed to solve the water problem in 148 villages of 26 Gram Panchayats within Mahakalapada block and 52 villages of 16 Gram Panchayats within Marsaghai block with a population of 2.36 Lakh.

However, some villagers challenged the project before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last year, claiming that the construction work of the project over 15.43 acres of land in the village Manikunda under Marshaghai Tehsil was illegal as the land was recorded as Gramya Jungle or village forest.

Subsequently, the NGT stayed the work for not having clearance from the required authorities under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980,” said Dilip Kumar Dehury, the Executive Engineer of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS), Kendrapara.

The proposed drinking water project has the capacity to provide 25 million liters of drinking water. 28 overhead water tanks are to be built under the project.

It would involve laying around 150-km long water pipeline, construction of six underground reservoirs and two water treatment plants at Jadupur and Manikunda.

“We have already completed 60 percent of the work. As per the order of the NGT, we are yet to start the project work in Manikunda village.

We have applied for clearance from the forest department and after getting the clearance we will start the work,” added Dehury.

Salinity ingress in many coastal pockets has been increasing, leaving more and more agricultural land infertile. Many villages were virtually floating on an ocean of sweet water three decades back.

However, due to excess drawing of groundwater, the salinity level in the water has been increasing year by year.

It is a common scene in many seaside villages that the people stand in long queues to collect water from a few tube-wells.

The authorities should complete the work on the drinking project immediately so that the purpose of the project is not lost, said Sarat Behera of Jadupur village.

LocalWire

Kendrapara, Nov 20 (LocalWire): Large numbers of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles have started arriving in the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary for mating.

“The Olive Ridley sea turtles usually start their mating in the sea near their preferred nesting coast in November, said Debashis Bhoi, the forest range officer of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary.

After the end of the mating season, most male turtles return to the sea, leaving behind the females to lay eggs.

Fishing has been banned from 1st November to 31st May in the marine sanctuary where these turtles are congregating.

This includes the stretch of sea up to twenty kilometers from the coastline of Gahirmatha rookery.

“We have already arrested 20 fishermen and seized four boats on the charges of illegally fishing in the marine sanctuary,” added the forest officer.

Hatchlings would emerge from the eggs after 45-60 days and find their way to the sea creating a cacophony.

It is one of the rare situations in which the babies grow without their mother, added the forest officer.

Each winter the magnificent Olive Ridley sea turtles start their long journey to Gahirmatha sea water to lay eggs.

The turtles repeat the trek every year, always to return to the same beach in order to lay their eggs and reproduce where they were born.

The protected Gahiramatha beach is the world’s largest nesting site for the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea).

Olive Ridleys are known for their huge arribadas, or egg-laying episodes, where half a million turtles come ashore to lay their eggs, added the forest officer.

LocalWire

Kendrapara, Nov 11 (LocalWire): Passenger ferry services from the remote river side villages within Bhitarkanika National Park and its nearby areas in Kendrapara district and in the neighbouring Bhadrak district have been suspended for the past 15 days due to non-allotment of funds by the government to purchase fuel.

Around 60,000 riverside villagers of Rajkanika and Rajnagar blocks of Kendrapara district and adjoining Chandbali block of Bhadrak district, including many tourists, have been facing problems after the authorities stopped inland water transport, said Girish Nayak of Talachu village.

“Some private boat owners are now charging Rs 2000-3000 to ferry tourists from Chandabali to Bhitarkanika whereas a tourist pays only Rs 30 to reach Bhitarkaika from Chandabali in the motor launch of the government managed Inland Water Transport Department.

Many villagers are also paying more to cross the crocodile infested river to reach Chandabali, Talachua and other places,” said Pradip Mandal of Rangani.

The water bodies in these areas are replete with more than 1700 saltwater crocodiles for which the villagers are reluctant to use small country boats, said Madan Pradhan of Iswarpur village.

LocalWire

Kendrapara, Oct 30 (LocalWire): Seaside villagers in Kendrapara district commemorated the 21st anniversary of the Super Cyclone on Thursday (Oct 29).

The cyclone, which hit the state on Oct 29, 1999, killed 387 people from the district.

Relatives of the people who perished in the cyclone performed oblations (pind daan), praying for peace for their souls.

Kalandi Hati, 60, from Tentulikandha village, lost five family members in the cyclone when tidal waves washed away the village.

“Even after 21 years, the specter of the cyclone haunts me. My wife, two sons, and two daughters died in the wrath of the cyclone,” he said.

Antarjami Swain, 48, of the same village, lost his father Arjun, wife Minati, and two minor daughters in the cyclone.

“My mother and I managed to cling to a coconut tree and survived the 12-feet-high tidal wave,” he recalls.

Officials on Thursday held a memorial ceremony and called for more awareness and preparedness for natural disasters.

Relatives of people who were killed by tidal waves gathered at the memorial towers at Mahakalapada to remember their beloved.

“The force of the tidal wave demolished the whole village of Sandakuda including our three-roomed thatched house.

I lost two sons, two daughters and my wife. All were washed away and I never found their bodies,” said Amar, blinking away tears.

LocalWire