A drive by the Forest Department to demolish illegal prawn dykes inside the Bhitarkanika National Park was halted on Wednesday after villagers staged a protest at Karandiapatana village under Mahakalapada Forest Range in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, claiming they have depended on shrimp farming for their livelihood for decades.
The authorities had launched the operation to remove illegal shrimp enclosures spread over nearly 113 hectares of encroached forest land. However, the exercise was suspended after hundreds of villagers, including women and children, gathered at the site and prevented forest personnel from proceeding despite the presence of police.
To avoid any law-and-order situation, officials called off the operation temporarily. “The drive will resume shortly with additional police reinforcement,” a forest official said.
Officials maintained that the illegal prawn farms violate the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms as well as Supreme Court and High Court directives. They said shrimp farms operating without registration from the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA) are liable for demolition.
The Forest Department plans to undertake large-scale mangrove regeneration on the reclaimed land immediately after the demolition drive to prevent fresh encroachments. Officials said the reclaimed areas are suitable for mangrove restoration because of the regular inflow of tidal waters.
Admitting that similar eviction drives in the past had failed to fully arrest mangrove degradation, forest officials said this time the operation is being carried out in a more coordinated manner.
Meanwhile, conservationists alleged that illegal prawn farming continues to flourish in eco-sensitive areas around Bhitarkanika due to half-hearted enforcement by the Revenue and Forest departments. They claimed influential encroachers and shrimp farm operators have been violating environmental, forest conservation and land encroachment laws with little action from the authorities.