Kendrapara: The National Human Rights Commission has sought a comprehensive report from the state government over the basic amenities extended to the persons living in sea erosion-affected Satabhaya village to be displaced under a rehabilitation project.

The rights panel's order has come in the wake of a petition moved by rights' activist Radhaknata Tripathy.

The petition alleged that rights for a decent living have been denied to 571 erosion-affected families and sought the intervention of the commission.

It was mentioned in the petition that these sea-erosion-hit families were living a pathetic life in Satabhaya as the project to rehabilitate them at Bagapatia resettlement colony was yet to be implemented.

They are constantly suffering as their houses are being gobbled by the Bay of Bengal, the petition stated.

In 2008, chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced to shift these families to Bagapatia village which is about 8km from Satabhaya. This is incidentally Odisha's first rehabilitation project for sea-erosion-affected villages. However, things got delayed mainly due to red tape.

The state of primary education and maternity health care in the village is not up to the mark.

With little income avenues left with the villagers, many are leaving the village.

"The state government is doing very little to mitigate the sufferings of the villagers," Tripathy said.

Sixteen villages spread over 3440 acres in Satabhaya panchayat have now been reduced to a couple of hamlets. Five villages - Mohanpura, Sanagahirmatha, Paramnandapura, Kaduanasi and Sahebnagar - have completely gone under the sea. Substantial portion of another eight villages have been submerged in the sea. Most villages do not have human settlements, Tripathy pointed out in his petition.

While people are lodging protests against acquisition of their land elsewhere, the things are on the contrary in Satabhaya. People here want to leave their ancestral land forever as sea is steadily eating up their settlements.