On the morning of 26 May, Jaydeb Das was sitting on the porch of his house in Kankadapal — a coastal village in Odisha's Balasore. There were heavy rains and strong winds outside.
Exactly 370 days ago, the 29-year-old had witnessed the havoc that Cyclone Amphan had caused. This time, he, like other villagers in the region, was hoping that Cyclone Yaas will pass without causing much devastation. But that was not to be.
At around 9.30 am, half an hour after Cyclone Yaas’ landfall process begun between Dhamra and Balasore, Das noticed water on the muddy path in front of his house. “I thought it was rainwater,” he said. However, as the water level rose up to three feet quickly, the villagers realised that sea tides had entered the village.
The cyclone caused winds of up to 140 kms per hour and heavy rains. Nevertheless, Das took hold of a long stick and waded through the water to see the condition of his prawn gheri on which Das along with two others had invested Rs 4 lakh. When he saw from a distance that the cyclone had destroyed the gheri, he returned with gloom writ large all over his face.
Three hours later, the water receded, but not before washing away Das’ hopes.
Recounting that day, the 29-year-old asked, “What wrong have a committed? Why is God so unkind to me?”
The prawns would have helped pay off Das’ debt — an amount of Rs 2 lakh that he had borrowed for his sister Saraswati’s marriage a few months ago. He and his wife Lusi Rani are also expecting their first child. Das was also hoping to set aside some money for his wife and the child.
Das is also a well-known idol maker, and says that he used to earn Rs 60,000-Rs 80,000 a year. However, for the past year, that avenue has been closed due to COVID-19.
The 19-year-old says that the last fourteen months have broken his patience and will to work. He is uncertain about his future prospects.
It is a similar story in the whole of Chaumukha panchayat, of which the Kankadapal village is a part. In many ways, the villagers’ daily life revolves around the Bay of Bengal, and many people depend on the sea for survival.
Most villagers grow paddy in the kharif season and sell groundnuts in the rabi season. Many of them also earn a decent amount of money from prawn farming, betelnut and cashewnut plantations.
According to sarpanch Narayan Khatua, the cyclones of last year and this year have destroyed betel vines and cashewnut plantations in all parts of the panchayats. According to him, last year the wind speed was higher, but this year, the tides caused more damage. Many people’s fishing boats too have been damaged.
Khatua estimates that over 150 kuccha houses, as well as a few with asbestos roofs, have been completely damaged due to Cyclone Yaas. At least 250 houses were submerged in four-feet high saline water. Due to this, the paddy and groundnut stored inside the houses are of no use now.
He says that the block development officer and local revenue inspector visited the panchayat on 27 May for initial damage assessment. However, like the villagers, the sarpanch was skeptical of the possibility of any quick support from the administration,
“Amphan had damaged groundnut crops of many farmers in our panchayat, but very few have received compensation. I request the government to consider the cases of those affected by Cyclone Yaas,” Khatua said.
The sarpanch said that 240-250 prawn gheris have been badly affected. He estimated that the power supply will return in two or three days.
Twenty-four hours after the cyclone, the sea was its normal self, and the villagers in the area have begun to think about what the future holds for them. Many will get back to prawn farming, or will focus on setting up betelnut cultivation again. But what is certain is that it will take time for them to piece their lives back together again. Many are yet to arrive at an estimate of how much damage they suffered.
Khatua noted, “The worst impact of Cyclone Yaas has been on agriculture. As farmlands have been submerged by saline waters, I don’t think the people will be able to grow anything anytime soon.”
from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2Tqx5KY
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