Phiringia: Siba Dehury is a vegetable and mango farmer of this block in Kandhamal district. Nowadays, water shortage has hit his farming.
The government has launched many schemes for farmers. But very often these schemes do not reach intended beneficiaries.
Siba has been cultivating a two-acre land. He grows vegetables like cucumber, brinjal, bitter gourd, beans and snake gourds and mango trees in his garden which give him a good earning.
Siba, a septuagenarian, lives with his wife as his sons are living separately. From morning to evening the couple toils on their farm. Siba used to water his plants by bringing it on a sling from a nearby rivulet. The stream is getting thinner and Siba’s age does not allow him to carry water.
“My farming has been hit by water shortage. I applied for a well on my land, but have not got any response from the horticulture department. If the department gets a well dug on my land, I can have a better harvest,” said Siba, adding, that his earnings is Rs 80,000 a year.
When contacted, block horticulture officer Jnana Ranjan Rout said, “There is no scheme to dig wells on farmlands. If the BDO permits then Siba can have it under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.”
PNN