To save their village from severe sea erosion, villagers of Ramayapatna on Odisha’s Ganjam district coast have started digging and clearing the Bahuda river mouth.
Blockage of the river mouth, formation of a sand bar and opening of a new river mouth have beem identified as the reasons behind the sudden rise in sea erosion, threatening the existence of Ramayapatna. During the past few weeks, around 38 houses and some community establishments of the village under the Katturu panchayat of Chikiti block have been gobbled up by sea waves, said sarpanch Jagabandhu Behera.
“Sea erosion increases at Ramayapatna when the flow of water increases in the Bahuda river during rain. As the inhabitants fear there will be more rain in next few weeks, they decided to dig up the blocked river mouth on their own by hiring an excavator,” said Mr. Behera.
As an immediate measure, the administration and the irrigation department have decided on stone dumping along the coast of Ramayapatna, said executive engineer of the Berhampur irrigation division, Bijay Kumar Palo.
“Continuous sea erosion at Ramayapatna is due to changes at the Bahuda river mouth and measures to save the village are being taken as per the advice of a team of experts from the National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai,” he said
