Kendrapada: A demolition drive against illegal shrimp farms inside Bhitarkanika National Park was halted on Wednesday after hundreds of their owners and local residents blocked officials from taking action at Karandiapatana village under Mahakalapada forest range.Forest officials, accompanied by police and a magistrate, reached the village to dismantle illegal shrimp gherries spread across 113 hectares of forest land. However, the operation was suspended after a large number of encroachers and villagers gathered at the site and blocked the approach road.“As soon as we arrived to demolish illegal shrimp farms, encroachers and farm owners assembled in large numbers and obstructed the drive. Many locals have also illegally converted mangrove forest land into agricultural fields after clearing mangroves,” said Manas Kumar Das, assistant conservator of forest, Bhitarkanika National Park.Das said the demolition was only postponed and not cancelled. “After discussions with senior district administration officials, we have temporarily halted the operation. We will soon mobilise additional police force and resume the demolition of all illegal shrimp farms inside the park,” he said. According to forest officials, all shrimp farms operating within the protected area violate coastal regulation zone norms as well as Supreme Court and high court directives.They added that shrimp farms functioning without registration from Coastal Aquaculture Authority are liable for demolition, while operators can face imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh under Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act and Rules, 2005.Officials said all shrimp farms located along rivers, creeks and canals within 5 km of the high tide line are required to obtain CAA registration. Farms operating without registration are considered illegal.The forest department also plans to restore the encroached areas by planting mangrove saplings after the demolition. Officials alleged that untreated effluents from the shrimp farms are discharged into nearby rivers and ponds, polluting groundwater and posing a serious threat to the fragile mangrove ecosystem.However, shrimp farm owners strongly opposed the move, claiming they have been cultivating shrimp and paddy on the land for decades.“We have been earning our livelihood through shrimp and paddy farming on this land for more than 40 years. The forest department has no right to take away our land,” alleged Amarendra Mandal, a shrimp farmer from Kandariapatana village.Environmentalists, meanwhile, supported the proposed action. Hemant Kumar Rout, secretary of the Gahirmatha Marine Turtle and Mangrove Conservation Society, said illegal shrimp farms have continued to expand despite repeated demolition drives.He pointed out that in 2015, the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change declared 192 villages surrounding Bhitarkanika National Park as eco-sensitive zones to protect the ecologically fragile region. The ESZ notification prohibits shrimp farming within 2 km of the national park, making removal of illegal farms essential for conserving India’s second-largest mangrove forest after the Sundarbans, he added.
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