With the surging tidal water having washed away, a portion of the Satabhaya’s sand dune which acts as a protecting wall for the residents from the sea water ingress, the locals have gone panicky.
Though the tidal water receded on Thursday from Satabhaya but still the agriculture fields lay submerged. The villagers were seen engaged by the Saline Embankment Division to repair the breach occurred in the saline embankment.
According to official sources, the high tide level of 3.30 meter had affected the saline embankment as 1.50 meters length embankment was washed away.
Even, the Balijora sluice on the Satabhaya saline embankment had been affected in the tidal wave. A portion of the sand dune crumbled. To add to the worry, the tidal water overlapped from the saline embankment by crossing the Panchubarahi temple. As many as 500 acres of agriculture land were still submerged with saline water.
About four decades back the distance between the hamlets and the sea was about three km, but now the houses exist at a handshaking distance from the sea. During each high tide period, the sea water engulfs the houses and lands.
The sea has been crawling menacingly towards the seaside village of Satabhaya, creating worries for the locals every year, said the villagers.
A team of senior officials of the Aul Saline Embankment Division and the Chief Engineer of the lower Mahanadi Branch were scheduled to visit Satabhaya to take stock of the situation and find out a permanent solution for restoration of the saline embankment. Meanwhile, all temporary protection works have been taken up. An amount of Rs5 crore has been approved for construction of the entire embankment and sluice of Satabhaya, said official sources.
The locals rued the step motherly attitude of the district administration in carrying out slowly the Bijunagar resettlement colony work at Bagapatia, meant for rehabilitating the sea erosion hit 575 families.