Tidal ingress threatens Kendrapara villages

Despite a comprehensive administrative survey conducted in April 2022, vast stretches of coastal embankments under the Aul division in Kendrapara district remain dangerously vulnerable.

- POST NEWS NETWORK

As a result, tidal water from the sea continues to inundate farmlands and residential areas, displacing people and disrupting essential services such as transport, education, and healthcare.

The Embankment Division, established in the aftermath of multiple natural calamities such as floods, cyclones, and the 2004 tsunami, was mandated to safeguard 744.47 kilometres of coastline spanning Aul, Rajkanika, Rajnagar, and Mahakalapara blocks.

The 2022-23 fiscal survey report, signed by local officials -from Block Development Officers and Tehsildars up to the District Collectorhad identified the vulnerabilities of the embankments. Yet, communities from Talachua in Rajnagar block to Batiaghara in Mahakalapara continue to suffer the brunt of unchecked tidal intrusion.