How a high tide ate up coastal village in Odisha, changed way people vote | India News

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On a wet July day in 2011, a monstrous excessive tide washed away 5 homes of Podampeta, a fishing village on the east coast. 13 years down the road, a collection of occasions triggered by that calamity is about to vary the best way folks of Podampeta vote.
As tides and erosion took their toll, Odisha govt rehabilitated the affected folks at totally different areas, and the unique habitation – underneath Ganjam block in Ganjam district, 140km from Bhubaneswar – grew to become a ghost village.
“In final twenty years, three lanes of homes have been washed away by the ocean. We now have misplaced our homes, fish drying floor and livelihood. We left the village with a heavy coronary heart,” mentioned Ch Shyama.
In 2011-12, a gaggle of 102 have been settled close to Podagada village, round 6km away. It’s now often called New Podampeta. The remaining 361 households have been settled in two phases close to Mayurpada village after Cyclone Phailin in 2013. This place is round 3.5 km from Podampeta village.
Initially, they exercised their franchise at one sales space close to their previous village Podampeta. “This 12 months, we’ll solid our votes at three totally different locations as New Podampeta doesn’t have a polling sales space,” mentioned Ch Bairagi, a villager of New Podampeta.
In accordance with the ultimate rolls launched by EC, greater than 220 voters of New Podampeta will solid their vote at Arunapur major college, round 4km from the village, whereas greater than 120 will journey to N Barapalli, round 4 km from the village. Some others will go to Mayurpada village to vote.
“I really feel heartbroken that local weather change drove us away from our birthplace. We’re local weather refugees. Now, we’re preventing for each primary amenity, together with consuming water, roads and a crematorium,” mentioned Ch Gajandra of New Podampeta.



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