Subarnarekha turns river of sorrow

BALASORE: Even as flood water in the river Subarnarekha has receded, Rasalpur and Routraypur villages are still marooned. Every year, the two riverside villages are devastated by floods, but the government is yet to take any measures to check it.  Sources said residents of the villages under Baliapal block are panicked following incidents of erosion in the embankment of Subarnarekha river during receding of flood water. People are apprehending that the river might change its course. Sk Matlub of Rasalpur said his house had been damaged in the floods and property washed away. “Every year we face floods. But now we are feeling unsafe to stay in the village as we fear the river will swallow our habitation. It has already eaten the agricultural fields and landslides in the embankment have posed danger to the houses built near it,” he said. Though the administration shifts villagers to shelter houses, people said it was not a permanent solution to the problem.Earlier, more than 1,000 people of Badakhanpur village in Baliapal block were permanently shifted to a nearby village after the river eroded their habitation. Both Rasalpur and Routraypur, having a population of more than 1,500, are now on the verge of extinction. Not only these two villages, the Subanarekha river has posed danger to 13 panchayats in Bhograi block, eight in Baliapal and five in Jaleswar.  While river banks are shrinking, parts of villages are fast vanishing with the river biting off chunks of land at an alarming rate. Locals claimed that riverbeds are getting shallow due to siltation, further restricting the water carrying capacity. “As a result, the intensity of floods in the region is on the rise. As Subarnarekha’s mouth has been filled with sand, it has to change its course. The government should think of a permanent solution instead of ad hoc measures,” said farmers’ leader Sitanshu Senapati.Government officials, however, express their helplessness. “We have many times appealed to the residents of the two villages, who have been victims of nature’s fury,  to shift to an alternative place. But they do not agree to the proposal.” said Baliapal BDO Bijay Kumar Rout. “Now a proposal for stone packng of the riverbed has been made which we hope would protect the  habitations from erosion,” he added.