Soil and shoreline erosion are affecting Indian villages in detrimental ways. The Paradeep port, the major port in Orissa has caused massive erosion across northern beaches. The most extreme incident occurred at Satbhaya panchayat where five villages were consumed by the sea. Scientific studies by the National Institute of Ocean Technology have shown that all ports cause erosion on the north side of India. Since 1968 when Paradeep Port was built, Satbhaya beach has been reduced by as much as one to one and a half kilometers. The Rajnagar block of Kendrapada district is now under high threat due to sea erosion. Every year, the sea devours around 50 meters of land mass in the Satabhaya region. According to a journal called ‘Global Environmental Negotiation’, if sea levels rise 1 meter from the current level, 1,700,000 hectors of cultivatable land in Orissa will be submerged.
If shoreline erosion and rising sea levels aren’t threatening enough, Indian villages also face soil erosion, a damaging ingredient to Indian farming, the prime occupation of the nation. Soil erosion occurs when gravity pulls the soil downhill, causing soil slips, earth cracks and slumps. Rainfall, only speeds up the process gravity has already set into motion. When the water droplets hit the soil, the flow of water causes sheet-washing, rilling, surface gullying, tunneling and in rivers, it scours the banks. Almost 130 million hectare of land is affected by serious soil erosion, which is 45% of India’s total geographical surface area. There are a few different causes of this excessive erosion. Wind erosion cause development of deserts, dust, storms, whirlwinds and destruction of crops, while moving sand covers the land and makes it sterile. Falling rain and running rivers cause soil erosion in hilly areas which then leads to severe landslides and floods. Grazing by a large number of livestock over and above the carrying capacity of grass lands, traditional agricultural practices, construction of roads, indiscriminate quarrying and other activities have also led to the opening of hill-faces to excessive soil erosion.
Soil is such an important non-renewable natural resource, which supports life on earth. In a survey it was estimated that one-sixth of the world’s soils have already been degraded by water and wind erosion. What does soil erosion mean for India? Soil erosion results in loss of nutrients in suspension or solution which are washed away from one place to another, thus causing depletion of nutrients from topsoil. There is also degradation through the creation of gullies and ravines, which makes the land unsuitable for agricultural production. Subsidence of the land in some areas and landslides in the hilly regions are problems that affect highways, habitations and irrigation dams. Soil being blown by the wind or falling into rivers, streams or water supplies is especially dangerous because of the use of pesticides. These pesticides then enter the food chain at excessive rates causing major health hazards.
The Indian government is trying out various procedures of soil conservation to check upon the damages caused by this phenomenon. Of course, soil erosion by means of natural elements such as wind and rain can hardly be controlled; however artificial means like mining, deforestation and other are being strictly brought under the umbrella of law.
