Bhanjanagar: With monsoon playing truant, the farming sector is affected by insufficient rain in Bhanjanagar and other areas in Ganjam district. Adding to the crisis are defunct lift irrigation points.
Farmers are worried a lot, a report said. According to the report, farmers alleged that they were supplied seeds by government authorised agencies for the kharif season.
The seeds were sub-standard and the saplings were affected by pest quickly. Moreover, the farmlands are dry due to dearth of water while most lift irrigation points in the region have gone kaput.
They apprehend a looming crisis in the agriculture sector owing to insufficient rainfall. Farmers are unsuccessfully trying to save the paddy saplings while resentment is growing among them.
Upset over supply of sub-standard seeds and defunct lift irrigation points, farmers in Bhanjanagar, Jagannathprasad and Bellaguntha blocks are bracing themselves for an agitation.
They demand immediate supply of fertilisers. By the second week of June, Bhanjanagar has received much less rainfall than normal. Therefore hectares of farmlands are lying dry.
Bhanjanagar and Sorada reservoirs are the lifelines for agriculture in this area. This year, both the reservoirs do not have adequate water to feed the agriculture sector.
Farmers observed that if the area does not get rain in five to six days, water supply from the reservoirs will stop. Water will be released from Daha reservoir July 25 while Baghua reservoir lacks water to meet the needs of agriculture, they added. Panipanchayats looking after the reservoirs will decide when water will be released through canals.
When contacted, executive engineer, Gokula Chandra Padhi of the Water Resources department said that they have started releasing water through canals. “This process will go on for four months. Normal rainfall is expected in coming days,” he added.
Farmers of Tanarada under Bellaguntha block – Sania Bisoyi, Akula Nayak and Radhamohan Sethi alleged that they were supplied with sub-standard seeds due to which saplings are prone to pests.
“Saplings are wilting due to pest attacks. Help of agriculture officials is sought, but they do not come out for our rescue at the time of crisis,” they lamented.
There are two irrigation points in Bhanjanagar area, but they are of no use for the last few years due to electrical problem. Despite scanty rainfall, farmers are still trying their best to save crops.
“We now need good seeds and fertilisers. The department should immediately look into this issue in the larger interest of farmers,” locals said.
Mukund Chandra Padhi, agriculture officer of Jagannathprasad block, said that the department is receiving reports from different areas about saplings being affected by pests. Farmers are being advised to apply pesticides, he added.
PNN