River erosion in Jagatsinghpur district. Telegraph picture

Paradip, July 26: Erosion triggered by meandering rivers is fast emerging as a potential threat to several densely-populated villages near this industrial town.

The riverside Kujang and Tirtol blocks are bearing the brunt of the onslaught as the Mahanadi river has set off landslide and soil erosion there. The Mahanadi and Devi rivers are changing directions in several parts of Jagatsinghpur district.

The Mahanadi has partially eaten up a government-run horticulture farm at the Kujang block headquarters. The peripheral Sanadiha and Badadiha villages are also exposed to the steady march of the river into the areas of human settlements.

“Villages under Balikuda-Kujang tehsils are mainly bearing the brunt of river erosion. Villagers in Marichipur, Kedani deltaic region, Kholagaon, Apandara, Sribantapur, Sanabelapur, Godanruan and Naugaon are also shifting to safer locations as the rivers are increasingly eating up the land mass there,” said Tapash Swain, a resident of Balikuda.

“Both Kujang and Tirtol blocks are not far away from bustling Paradip industrial hub. These areas also figure in the territory earmarked for the petrochemical petroleum investment region project,” said Pravat Kumar Samantaray, a trade unionist and former member of the Lok Sabha.

Despite the gravity of the situation, no action plan has yet been worked out to contain the trend. While measures that had been adopted, such as sand bag filling, were temporary in nature, stonewalling of the erosion-prone riverbanks was yet to be done, he said.

While several bridges across rivers in these regions have ensured better connectivity, they have also contributed to erosion by blocking the flow of river water. This has happened because of faulty construction and design of the bridges.

Unauthorised sand quarrying has also aggravated erosion of several villages under Kujang, Balikuda and Tirtol blocks on the downstream of Mahanadi and Devi rivers.

Illegal sand lifting by powerful lobby of builders and construction farms, however, continues to go on unabated.

If allegations levelled by the erosion-hit villagers are any indication, local revenue and tehsil officials have forged an alliance with several construction units and builders. They have thrown the safety concern of affected villages to the winds by according green signal to sand quarrying in an arbitrary manner.

Local officials, who consented to sand lifting, had been heavily bribed, said Ramakanta Swain, a resident of Kujang.

“Several man-made factors are responsible for change in the behavioural pattern of the rivers in these areas,” said Tapan Padhee, president of the National Institute for Development.

Government officials, however, assured that the rivers would soon be checked from eating further landmass from these areas.

“A comprehensive plan to arrest river erosion as part of a flood control scheme has already been chalked out. It has received the approval of Odisha water resources department. Funds are expected to be sanctioned shortly for controlling river erosion in these areas,” said executive engineer, Mahanadi (south) division Subrat Kumar Das.