Boita Bandana: Odisha celebrates its maritime legacy
Boita Bandana celebrates Odisha's maritime heritage with miniature boats, cultural events, and a tribute to the sea god Varuna.
Green activists have expressed concern over the felling of mangrove species and unauthorized construction activities in deforested areas in the Mahakalpada forest range in Odisha’s Kendrapara district.
There has been large-scale felling of standing mangrove trees in Jagatajore, Suniti, and Ramnagar villages of the forest range. The environmentally damaging activities are going right under the nose of revenue and forest officials.
Unless this is stopped and deforested areas are taken up for mangrove regeneration, more forest clearance activities will continue in the coming days, alleged Hemant Rout, environmentalist and the secretary, Gahirmatha Marine Turtles and Mangrove Conservation Society, Kendrapara.
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The pucca structures that have come up at the forested lands need to be pulled down and the offenders should be taken to task with immediate effect, he said adding the unauthorized constructions are blocking the natural water channels and are detrimental to the mangrove ecology of the area.
The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Act provisions were flouted with impunity by the encroachers, he added.
“We are looking into the alleged destruction of standing mangrove species. Legal action will be taken against the land grabbers and unlawful structures will be demolished”, said Sahaji Charana Biswal, the forest range officer of Mahakalapada forest range.
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