Berhampur: Cyclone Phailin and the following flood that occurred in the Inginathi Panchayat of Belguntha Block in Ganjam District of Odisha in 2013 had devastated the area. Till today, the residents of this area are struggling.
As many as 11 years have passed since the cyclone hit Belguntha Block. Life of people has turned difficult. Natural disasters created chaos.
Cyclone Phailin devastated Inginathi Panchayat of Belguntha Block, Ganjam District in 2013. The next day, i.e. on October 13, the dam of the nearby Badanadi River collapsed, causing floods. The entire panchayat was waterlogged for about a month.
Thousands of people from the villages of Baladi, Ustapalli, Sariapalli, Ratang and Inginathi and Mandar of the panchayat were affected. The entire area turned into an artificial lake. Hundreds of acres of farmland were flooded and silted up. Farmers could not recognize their own land. Rescue work was carried out.
After a few years, roads were built. Help was provided to the poor. Seeing the situation at that time, the district administration declared Inginathi panchayat as a foster panchayat. Everyone hoped that the panchayat would develop. Farmers were given financial assistance to remove sand from the silted land. But it was too less. It was not possible to remove the sand from the land with that help. Even now, that land is lying as silted up as before. A dense forest has formed there which has become a refuge for wild animals.
Over time, Inginathi panchayat, like all the panchayats of Belguntha block, has developed with government grants. Concrete roads, drinking water facility, houses for the poor, allowances, a cyclone shelter home and some other development works have been carried out. The collapsed embankment of the Badanadi and Lohrakhandi rivers on both sides of the panchayat has been repaired. But the embankment of the Lohrakhandi River has not been repaired yet.
The amount of development that a flood-prone area should get, has not been done even today. The roads that have been built are now in a deplorable state. It is alleged that the basic needs of the people have been ignored.
Due to siltation, most of the land cannot be cultivated till now. Due to non-availability of work, most of the people have migrated to other states to work.
The most regrettable thing is that the panchayat office is being run in a library building due to lack of a proper building. This clearly shows the condition of a panchayat that has been damaged by cyclones and floods.
Now, starting from the public representatives of the panchayat, a question from the general public is, what is the meaning of the announced foster panchayat?
Apart from the regular development work, social and economic development has been bypassed here. Education, health, agriculture, irrigation and restoration of silted land have not been done.
However, the Bhanjanagar Sub-District Collector has said that the necessary developmental works will be carried out.
Apart from the past losses and current administrative negligence, every year when October comes, the residents of the panchayat are scared. Apart from the “Phaliin” cyclone that hit on October 12, 2013, “Hudhud” on October 12, 2014, “Titli” on October 10, 2018, “Fani” on May 3, 2019, and “Bulbul” on November 9 of the same year, “Amphan” in 2020, “Yas” in 2021, “Gulab” in 2022, “Asani” in 2022 and “Dana” in 2024, the residents of this place get scared when they hear the names of cyclones like “Dana” in 2024.
On the other hand, the Ganjam District Collector said that the government will develop the foster Panchayat system by emphasizing its legitimacy and that instructions have been given to the departmental officers for this purpose.