Thousands of acres of agricultural land have been rendered saline, probably for years, and lakhs worth of standing crops destroyed. No earthly force can stop a cyclone in its tracks, or turn it away from human habitation. But nature, in its wisdom, has evolved a system of checks and balances for all things, even natural phenomena. But we are systematically destroying nature's defense mechanisms. Mangrove forests, coral formations, sand bars and sand dunes act as impediments to temper storms and tidal surges. Orissa's cyclone-prone coastal belt was originally clothed with dense mangrove forests. After 1947, refugees from East Bengal were settled in the area. Since then, mangroves have been cleared for agriculture, and more recently, for ports and urban reclamation.
Consider this, the worst affected area, around the Paradeep port, near the mouth of the Mahanadi river, was once a dense mangrove forest. The proliferation of aquaculture and prawn farming in the entire stretch from the mouth of the Dhamra river to the Devi river and beyond has badly depleted the mangroves.
Not surprisingly, the regions which suffered comparatively less damage are those which still have the protection of mangroves. But these too are in danger. The forests of the nearby Bhitarkanika Sanctuary and Mahanadi Delta are threatened by encroachments, illegal clearing, jetties and industrial projects.
We never seem to learn from past mistakes. In 1971, approximately 10,000 people died in a tidal surge in the Mahakalapada area of Kendrapara district, above the Paradeep port, where mangrove forests had been destroyed for the settlement of refugees in the post-partition era. For the people of Orissa, and the millions of others who bear the brunt of society's ecological vandalism, this remains a costly lesson to have not learnt.
