Disaster recovery specialist Rita Missal calls for livelihood master plan for sea-erosion-hit village in Kendrapada

Kendrapada: Rita Missal, a disaster recovery specialist and a member of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), visited the sea-erosion hit Satabhaya gram panchayat in Kendrapada’s Rajnagar block on Monday to recommend proper livelihood for its residents at Bagapatia rehabilitation colony.The 12-km-long stretch of the beach at Satabhaya gram panchayat, a cluster of seven villages, is often referred to as the ‘fastest eroding beach’ on the state’s long coast though only a miniscule portion remains. More than 600 homes and large tracts of agricultural land have been wiped away by the advancing waters in the past 40 years.Missal suggested before the district administration that a master plan must be drawn to provide proper livelihood to sea-erosion-hit villagers to compensate for their lost traditional professions of fishing, farming and livestock-rearing after they were rehabilitated to Bagapatia rehabilitation colony, around 12km from their original abode at Satabhaya.Missal interacted with many residents at the Bagapatia rehabilitation colony, known as the first rehab colony for climate refugees in India.Many people alleged before Missal that till date, they had been struggling to get bare necessities and basic amenities. The children of the rehabilitation colony are deprived of education owing to lack of teachers and infrastructure.“We used to eke our living by fishing, catching crabs, farming and rearing cattle at Satabhaya. The govt rehabilitated us in Bagapatia to save our lives from the marching sea. But we lost our traditional livelihood as the govt provided us only a small piece of land to build houses. Now, most of our youths are working as migrant labourers in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and other states,” said Prasan Parida, sarpanch of Satabhaya.“We will help the sea-erosion hit people of Satabhaya by providing them proper livelihood and other help. In 2022, NDMA prepared National Policy on Mitigation and Rehabilitation Measures for people displaced by coastal and river erosion. Response to and recovery from such disasters need a policy and mechanism to provide immediate relief to affected population. Such a policy can also offer them better pathways to regain control of their lives and livelihoods,” said Missal.Odisha State Disaster Management Authority general manager Bebita Manjari Nayak, Kendrapada additional district magistrate Nabakrushna Jena, Rajnagar block development officer Tilottama Prusti, district project officer Ajay Mohanty and other officials accompanied Missal. She also held a meeting with Kendrapada collector Raghuram R Iyer, environmentalists and other officials during her visit to Kendrapada.Missal started her career in disaster management at the UN office in India after the super cyclone in Odisha in 1999 and then worked in Maldives after the Asian tsunami in 2004. Since 2007, she has handled various assignments including working in various positions in Geneva, Bangkok, etc.