Climate change, removal of mangrove forests in Odisha turns thousands into environmental refugees

KENDRAPADA: Wading through mulchy sand in Barahapur village in Odisha, Jagannath Behera comes to an abrupt halt and points towards ruins of abandoned and partially submerged houses. “That’s where my land once stood. Thirty years ago, the sea was far away. But every year, it is getting closer,” the 60-year-old said, adding that rising sea levels started to sink their hamlet in the 1990s and rapidly swallowed several homes and farmlands at the turn of the century.
Barahapur is not an exception. Sea erosion is destroying many coastal towns in Odisha. In Satabhaya gram panchayat alone, where Barahapur village is located, 3,000 people have been evacuated to safer areas in the past two decades. A quick look at Google Maps shows part of Satabhaya’s location in the sea. What it doesn’t show is that there are still several people living a precarious life on the edge of the coast.
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