Satabhaya: 7 villages disappearing from Odisha's coast

A 17 km stretch along the coast of Odisha was once home to 700 families. Today that area is barren with sand all around with only a few things strewn here and there, and most of the families have been rehabilitated.

Satabhaya, or a cluster of seven villages, once a bustling area now has no sign or livelihood for as far as the eye can see. Everything that stood here, was been washed away due to costal erosion.

According to a report by the Indian Express, close to 571 families have been rehabilitated thus far. The district administration sent people to a colony in Bagapatia, 12 km away in 2018. Orders have been issued to rehabiltate 118 of the remaining 148 families, and the other 30 would be done once thier paperwork clears.

“The administration will provide 10 decimals of land and Rs 1.5 lakh each for construction of houses under Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana to each family,” said Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Basant Kumar Rout, according to the report.

Up untill 10 years ago, the main sources of livelihood were farming and fishing. But the sea took away all the farm lands and homes and increased the salinity of the land, making it infertile.

“Around 6 six years ago, my 2-acre land became infertile. After the rehabilitation, our family moved to Bagapatia, but I stayed back because it is difficult for all of us to live in the house built on a 10 decimal plot. My elder son has started working in a plywood factory in Kerala. My younger son will join him after his studies. I try to fish whenever I can,” says Prabhakar Behera (61), who used to live in one of the seven villages with his family.

Many living here had to leave and take up jobs in big cities like Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

“As the villagers here moved out, I shifted my family to another village. The school was also moved to the new colony and there was no point staying back. My family shifted to a rented accommodation and I went to Kerala to earn a living. But after the lockdown, I had to come back. Since then, I have been living here alone. I catch and sell fish to make a living. This was my source of income earlier as well,” Pavitra Kumar Sahoo (45), who is yet to be rehabilitated and stays in Barahipur, one of the seven villages, told the publication.

Satabhaya now mostly an island, lacks basic facilities like electricity and clean drinking water. For facilities like food and ration, people have to walk across a 5 km stretch crossing a stream that has crocodiles, and walking on an unpaved road.

Some like Brahmananda Dalai (70), take this journey every month.

“I have two daughters and both of them are married. I do not have the strength to move at this age. I have been earning a living through fishing and I want to continue to do so. My wife and I eat the fish I catch and we depend on the ration I get every month. I also manage to sell some fish. I cannot leave my home,” he says

According to a study conducted by the National Centre for Coastal Research in Chennai, Odisha lost 28 per cent of its 550-km coastline to the sea between 1990 and 2016, with Kendrapara alone losing 31 km.