Chikiti: About 60 acres of fertile farmland in Sunupur and Eksingi mouzas under Chikiti tehsil in Ganjam district are unofficially under the control of Andhra Pradesh, thanks to the prawn mafia of the neighbouring state, a report said.
The mafia lures the poor farmers into selling their cultivable land at throwaway prices which are later used for saline water shrimp farming. While the mafia makes huge money from the gherries set up on the Odisha soil, the land and its nearby patches lose their fertility due to the presence of saline water.
Meanwhile, the indifference of the district administration has brewed resentment in the area.
The farmers of Nuapalli and Jalaripenth villages of Biswanathpur under Rangeilunda block Thursday filed a written complaint with the local tehsildar in this regard.
According to the complaint, the prawn mafia of Andhra had managed to purchase large tracts of farmland from farmers cashing in on their poverty. The mafia has been growing prawns adopting modern technology and by drawing saline water on to the land.
This has not only made the land infertile, but also turned the nearby farmlands unsuitable for crop farming. Apart from the purchased farmland, the mafia has been using large patches of pastureland for prawn farming under the very nose of the administration, it was alleged.
Shrimp cultivation being a profitable business in Andhra Pradesh, the mafia has now set its eyes on other regions of Chikiti tehsil, said the complainants, adding, the mafia agents are involved in many antisocial activities in the region.
The farmers demanded a thorough probe by the administration into the matter and sought protection of their land from the mafia.
They have submitted photocopies of their written complaint to the Collector, the sub-collector Berhampur and tehsildar of Kanishi, it was learnt.