Golamunda: With monsoon doing a vanishing act, agricultural activities for the current kharif season have been hampered across Golamunda block in Kalahandi district.
As farm work has suffered amid apprehensions of drought in the region, migrant returnees and farmers are planning to migrate to other states in search of work.
Most parts of Golamunda do not have irrigation coverage, as the government has allegedly neglected the irrigation sector. As there is hardly any irrigation facility in the region, agriculture has failed to be a lucrative option for people.
Golamunda is one block in western Odisha from where many people migrate to other states in search of jobs. Farmlands have cracked open and saplings wilted owing to lack of rain.
It is already a droughtlike situation in 28 panchayats under this block. The farming community here is worried over the impending drought. They alleged that the government has not come forward to set up lift irrigation points during this crisis.
Reports said initially monsoon was active and it spurred some farm activities. But in June, July and August, the area has not received adequate rainfall, leading to the farmlands becoming dry.
With a few days left for the festival Nuajhai, farmers are worried as to how they would maintain their families. Besides, in case of crop failure, they will not be able to repay their loans.
Had there been irrigation facilities, they could have saved their crops, they noted. Many farmers have demanded that the government immediately asses the drought situation and declare the block as a droughthit zone.
Block Agriculture Officer Lingaraj Meher said revenue and agriculture officials will survey the crop situation in the block.
‘Drought’ tag for Ganjam district sought –
Berhampur: Owing to deficit rainfall, drought situation has cropped up in most parts of Ganjam district. Various farmers’ organizations have demanded that the government declare the district as drought-affected.
Farmers alleged that irrigation systems in certain pockets have allegedly collapsed. According to information available from the agriculture department, paddy has been cultivated in 2 lakh hectares in kharif season.
For want of rain, most of farmlands have dried, leading to damage of crops.
Some farmer organizations observed that the administration take immediate steps for assessing the crop damage and provide financial assistance to the affected farmers.
On the other hand, the BJP has made the irrigation as an issue and slammed the state government for doing nothing to improve the irrigation sector in the district.
Pradip Purohit, the state president of the Krushak Morcha along with a team of BJP leaders, took stock of the drought situation in some areas. They meet the family members of a farmer who has committed suicide at Baulajholi.
Another team of BJP leaders also took stock of crop damage at Chikiti, Gopalpur and parts of Chhatrapur constituency. It was alleged that drought situation has been grim in parts of Ganjam.
The Left party leaders have slammed the state government over the sorry state of agriculture this year due to lack of irrigation facility in the district.
They pointed out that when the district started reeling from severe drought condition, BJD MP and MLAs came in hordes to inaugurate smart school transformation programme.
They did not have any concern for the farmers and the farm sector.
PNN