Binika: Farmers are spending sleepless nights guarding their ready-to-harvest as well as harvested crops from boars and elephants in Binika area of Subarnapur district.
Since there is no let up in boar and elephant menace, these days the farmers have been forced to spend sleepless nights to save their crops. For last couple of days, hundreds of boars from Bhandara, Papi, Singhijuba, Jamapali, Kadalipali and Chulimali reserve forests under Binika range are raiding the paddy fields and destroying the ripe crops in the farmlands.
Adding to their woes, elephants from Ulunda forest are frequently raiding Binika after crossing the Mahanadi river. These pachyderms are causing extensive damage to the crops and are not sparing even the harvested crops kept in farmyards.
When it comes to save their crops; thinking about their health is the last thing on the farmers’ minds. Braving winter and mosquito menace, they are guarding their crops at their farmlands and farmyards, remaining awake all through the night. Some have erected manchas (wooden platform) from where they are keeping an eye on their crops below.
As if the wild animals menace was not enough, the inclement weather condition has also been playing spoilsport. With the paddy procurement centres yet to open in Binika area, hundreds of farmers, who have already harvested their crops, are in a fix. The unseasonal rain has aggravated the situation. They apprehend that the harvested paddy they have saved from marauding animals would be damaged due to the moisture in the atmosphere.
The farmers are yet to receive their assistance money for the crops they lost to boars last year. This year, these animals have already destroyed acres of paddy crops. They are passing through a difficult time. While they are under the burden of loans, they are having a tough time making machine and labour payments.
The farmers of Sindurapur, Babupali, Bankighardi, Singhijuba and Papi demanded that the administration consider their problem seriously and take steps to open the paddy procurement centres at the earliest and asses their crop loss.
When contacted, Binika ranger Sibaprasad Nayak said the affected farmers would be compensated for the damages caused by wild animals last year and the current year.