Panic gripped the fisherfolk of Ramayapalli village in Odisha’s Ganjam district after portions of houses were washed away by a tidal wave.
Ramayapalli has been facing the threat of tidal surge for the last 14 years, with the Bay of Bengal menacingly marching towards the mainland.
“This week, a tidal surge washed away one concrete house, while the road was damaged beyond repair. We are spending sleepless nights,” said K. Dilesh of Ramayapalli.
In the past one decade, the sea surge has resulted in submergence of the beach and is some few feet away from erasing the village from the map.
A few years ago, the Ganjam district administration facilitated the rehabilitation of villagers about 500 metre into the mainland. While a majority of them opted to move away, some continued to stay back for fishing.
Mr. Dilesh alleged that though the government had promised to come up with a guard wall to prevent erosion of Ramayapalli, it was yet to see the light of day.
