Kendrapara: Prawn farmers in this district are a worried lot as cyclonic storm Fani has damaged their cultivations over 10,000 hectares, a report said.
The damage to prawn gheries has affected the livelihood of over 20,000 people including small and marginal farmers. The damage has been most widespread in Rajnagar and Mahakalapara blocks which are nearer to the sea.
The people engaged in prawn farming claimed that they will not be able to tide over the loss without the help of the government in the form of financial assistance and loans at cheap rates. The calamity has pushed them into distress as they stare at a bleak future.
Farmer Rabi Tripathy of Gupti in Rajnagar block said he had cultivated prawn over 12 hectares but the high tide during the storm inundated his prawn gheries.
Tripathy claimed he could have earned about Rs 30 lakh if the cyclonic storm had not damaged his prawn gheries.
Kamalesh Mohanty, Odisha branch president of the Indian Marine Food Exporters Association, said the cyclonic storm has destroyed prawn farming in the coastal districts of Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Bhadrak.
The marine food exporters had exported 45,000 tonnes of sea food worth Rs 3,200 crore during 2018-19 fiscal.
However, the calamity has played havoc with sea food production as fishermen and prawn cultivators have suffered a lot. The cyclonic storm while destroying the prawn gheries has also destroyed fishing nets and boats of fishermen, he added.
Another prawn farmer Ajay Das of Rajnagar said the cyclonic storm brought sorrows for the fishermen and prawn cultivators by destroying their houses, motor pumps, prawn processing units, prawn culture centre and other materials.
Prawn cultivation has been major source of livelihood for people in the district, he said, demanding the state government to intervene and revive the cultivation by providing bank loans and materials at subsidized rates to the farmers.
Pratap Ranjan Rout, joint secretary (coastal) of state fishery department, said preliminary assessment has confirmed loss to fish farming in 7,000 ponds during the cyclone while the state government has decided to provide financial assistance of Rs 12,200 for fish farming per hectare.
However, no compensation has been announced for prawn farmers as the district administration is yet to submit any report of loss on prawn gheries, he added.
