Sea erosion in Kendrapara. Telegraph picture

Paradip, Oct. 27: The state government has prepared a blueprint to ensure the safety of vulnerable seaside human settlements in Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts.

Under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Programme, a Rs 65-crore project has been planned to protect the vulnerable villages with a six-feet seaside wall.

Rajnagar, Mahakalpada and Erasama blocks often encounter the smashing of sea waves and incursion of tidal waters into human habitation areas.

At present, there is a 206-km long coastal embankment for the villages’ safety. But, the smashing waves are getting the better of the barrier. The 3.5-metre high embankments are not high enough to stop the inflow of tidal water twice every month, on full moon and new moon days.

The tidal waves roar and rise past it, adding to the susceptibility of the villages, said an official.

The tidal surge rises up to five metres during cyclonic storm. Experts are of the view that the sea is unsteady in these parts. As a result, as many as 123 villages under Rajnagar, Mahakalpada and Erasama tehsils are thoroughly exposed to advancing of the sea.

The strategic spots in Rajnagar, Mahakalpada and Erasama areas are being covered under the World Bank-funded Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme. Work will shortly get under way with the tender bidding being invited for the project, said executive engineer of the saline embankment division Jugal Kishore Tripathy.

Besides, new breakwater system of sea walls will also be installed to keep the sea at bay, Tripathy said.

“The 16-km embankment is being refurbished to plug the tidal waves in Kendrapara district’s Rajnagar tehsil. In Jagatsinghpur, 9.6-km long seawall is being put in place to plug the advancing sea,” he said.