Demolition of illegal shrimp farms halted after assault on forest staff

Kendrapada: A demolition drive of illegal shrimp farms had to be stopped on Sunday in the seaside villages within Bhitarkanika National Park, as many shrimp farm owners and locals stood in the way of the demolition drive and allegedly assaulted forest personnel.Assistant conservator of forest (ACF) of Bhitarkanika, Manas Kumar Das said, “Around 100 shrimp farm owners and locals, including many women, gathered as soon as we arrived with excavators to demolish illegal shrimp gheries at Gopaljewpatana village and its nearby areas. They blocked the village road near the shrimp farms and assaulted forest personnel. One of the forest guards, Arjun Dalai, sustained serious head injuries, for which we halted the demolition work.”He added that though the demolition drive was temporarily stopped following discussions with senior officials, they will mobilise more police force to demolish all the illegal shrimp farms in the area. Shrimp farms are illegal within the park as it violates coastal regulations as well as Supreme Court and high court rulings.However, many shrimp farm owners are up-in-arms against the demolition drive. “It is not possible for us to raise paddy on our land due to ingress of salinity in the areas. Because of that we have converted our agricultural land into shrimp farms. Forest department has no right to dismantle shrimp farms over our land,” said Bijay Mandal, a shrimp farm owner.