Berhampur: A day after damage to abandoned houses in Podampeta due to sea erosion, govt on Saturday directed local engineers of the water resources department to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) to tackle coastal erosion in the district.The DPR will be prepared in consultation with the experts of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, said an engineer of the water resources department here. A team of engineers, led by Niranjan Sahu, superintendent engineer, Berhampur, on Saturday visited the village to take stock of the situation.Several abandoned houses in the village have already collapsed, while a few remaining structures are in a precarious condition due to the massive erosion of their foundations. The houses are abandoned as the district administration shifted the villagers some years ago to New Podampeta, about 3 km from the village. Some fishermen are using the abandoned houses as their storerooms for the fishing nets.Continuous wave attack, particularly during the monsoon, poses a risk of further shoreline erosion and collapse of the remaining structures. “Not only Podampeta, but also at least 7 to 8 coastal villages are faced with sea erosion,” the villagers said.Several villagers led by local MLA Krushna Chandra Nayak on Friday met collector (Ganjam) Keerthi Vassan V and urged him to take appropriate steps to stop the sea erosion. He directed the water resources engineer to visit the site and take stock of the situation.Following the direction of the collector and chief engineer, Berhampur, Jagananth Pani, we visited the site. “We have observed the sea has eroded the land immediately adjoining the houses, creating near vertical scraps of about 3 to 6 metres in height,” said Sahu.He said they would submit a report to the chief engineer about their observation and would suggest immediate measures. The district administration on Friday sealed and restricted visitors to the village due to the fresh erosion. At the entrance of the village, the administration has erected a barricade restricting the people from entering near the seashore
