Bhubaneswar, July 17: The Chilika Development Authority will intensify its drive to evict encroachers from the lake area.
The authority earlier used to fund the district administration to oust the squatters. But since June, the Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Act has authorised it to conduct the drive on its own.
The development body has so far removed encroachments from the four main channels of the lake, including the Balugaon and Magarmukh channels. It has also decided to remove the prawn dykes in a couple of weeks.
"The enclosures pose a threat to fishing activities in the lake by obstructing free movement of fishes and also hinder water circulation between the lake and the sea. We will shortly start an awareness drive at the villages before conducting a massive drive to evict the squatters in the lake area," said the authority's additional chief executive Sasmita Lenka.
Recently, a study funded by the World Bank and conducted by the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, found that more than 11 per cent of the lake area had been encroached upon by illegal dykes. The research institute has also advised the authority to remove the encroachments for better fish management in the lake.
However, the authority is apprehending stiff resistance from mafia involved in the illegal encroachments. They are reportedly earning crores of rupees from the illegal structures. In June 2015, a clash erupted between residents of two villages in Krushnaprasad police limits in Puri district over prawn dykes, leaving more than 10 persons injured. Villagers of Alanda and Patana had clashed with country-made guns, crude bombs and sharp weapons.
The eviction will also benefit around two lakh people, who depend on fishing from the lake spread over 1,100sqkm in Khurda, Puri and Ganjam districts. "We have sought police help during the eviction drive and stringent action will be taken against those who oppose the demolition of the illegal dykes," said Lenka.
The research institute has also recorded as many as 17 new fish species in the Chilika lagoon between 2011 and 2017. The lake has 335 fish species.
