Tidal waves damage houses

BERHAMPUR: Tidal waves damaged five houses in Podempeta village under Ganjam district on Tuesday night. This is the second such incident in the last fortnight; 15 houses were damaged on August 17 when sea water entered the village. Sea erosion was first noticed in the fishing village in 2010.

There were around 500 families in Podempeta then but by the end of 2011, sea encroached more than 1.5 kms of Podempeta beach. Several houses in the village were damaged due to sea erosion and subsequently, Ganjam administration decided to shift the villagers to a nearby area. A site was selected at Ramagarh where a rehabilitation colony was built under the Odisha Disaster Recovery Project of World Bank but only 142 families shifted to the colony and the rest stayed back. During Phailin, the fishing village was completely devastated.

Around 300 more families were then brought to the colony that is located between Gokhorakuda and and Mayurpada. However, 58 families continue to stay in Podempeta as they are not willing to relocate in the colony. They have now demanded financial benefits under government housing schemes.