Erasama (Jagatsinghpur): Residents of Erasama continue to express their deep frustration over the government’s inaction on their long-standing demand for a stone embankment along the seashore. With recent land erosion affecting multiple locations along the 3-km stretch from Hawakhanala to Ramtara, the locals have intensified their appeal for both a robust stone embankment and the development of a mangrove forest along the coast.

Under the banner of ‘Upakula Surakshya Samiti’, villagers have repeatedly urged the Jagatsinghpur district administration to take swift action. Their anger has been further fueled by the administration’s failure to protect the fast-depleting casuarina forest, which once acted as a natural barrier against sea intrusion.

A resident of Siali said locals live in constant fear that their village could one day be submerged by the encroaching sea. Similar fears have been voiced by residents of Padampur and Gadaharishpur gram panchayats.

Erasama village

Recently, the View Tower at Siali Beach, once a major tourist attraction and a symbol of local pride, was damaged due to advancing sea waves. The structure, declared unsafe, was eventually demolished by the district administration.

Following the inundation of several villages by seawater in May, officials from the Tourism Department and district administration visited the affected areas to assess the damage. However, no concrete measures have been initiated since then to mitigate erosion or safeguard the coastal communities.

A local sarpanch warned if the stone embankment work is not taken up immediately, the entire area could be lost to the sea.