Dhamnagar: The first floodwater in Reba and Kapali rivers which are tributaries of the River Baitarani and flow through Dhamnagar block in Bhadrak district has submerged acres of farmland in the district. Already burdened under never ever imagined consequences of COVID-19, the farmers are a worried lot.
Due to incessant rains for last couple of days, the water level in the rivers has swelled, resulting in breaches at several places. Consequently, hundreds of acres of agricultural lands in Asurali, Gadhiali, Fatepur, Kothar, Dhushuri, Khaparapada, Bamakura and Kasimpur panchayats are submerged.
Already reeling under coronavirus restrictions and erratic rainfall, the farmers in the affected panchayats had somehow managed to complete paddy transplantation work but are now apprehending that these transplanted paddy saplings have gone wasted due to the sand cast.
Besides this, flood waters rising upto 4-ft was seen on the culvert located in the middle of Patri Sahi and Khop Sahi, snapping the connection between Dhushuri and Tihidi blocks.
Villagers of Fatepur, Kasimpur, Banka Sahi, Khop Sahi, Naugadia villages are having major commutation problems due to the waterlogged roads in moving to Dhushuri.
The villagers alleged that they along with Kotha sarpanch Nimain Nayak have been demanding for a bridge in place of the culvert but to no avail.
The worst affected panchayat is Asurali. Here the flood water has not only submerged the farmlands in Gandhi Nagar, ShreeNath Nagar, Kalyani Nagar, Sahu Sahi, Lanjera, Mallick Patna, Dinajpur, Dilo, Torabantia and Hatiapada villages but also left the aforesaid villages waterlogged, it has been learnt.
PNN