Bhitarkanika National Park

Kendrapara, Dec. 1: The Bhitarkanika National Park has served eviction notice on 71 families who have encroached upon land within its prohibited corridors.

A stretch of about 10-acres in Rupei forest block of the internationally-acclaimed wetland site is encroached upon by the families, who mostly comprise Bengali-speaking migrants. A drive is on to make the area encroachment-free.

“Eviction orders have been issued against the illegal settlers in accordance with the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Those, on whom notices were served, will have to submit records of the land they are living in to establish their legitimate domicile status within a fortnight. None of them are armed with land record of rights as they dwell on encroached forestland. After the legal formalities, they will be asked to vacate the land voluntarily, failing which they will face forcible eviction. The reclaimed land will be used in a mangrove regeneration plan,” said divisional forest officer Manoj Kumar Mahapatra.

While there are a number of villages that thrive within the wildlife sanctuary, Rupei is the lone village that has existed within the national park’s boundary. About four families had settled down in the said forest areas immediately after the 1971 cyclone. Following this, there was a steady influx of people into the said forest block with the number of resident families gradually rising to 71.

The Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary presents contrasting paradoxes as illegal human settlement, coupled with alarming growth of prawn farming in the reserve forest areas, have hit hard its fragile eco-system.

There are more than a hundred villages within the sanctuary’s limits having more than 2 lakh human populations. Migrants from neighbouring states, even from Bangladesh, have settled here destroying the local mangroves in the process.