Bonth: A group of farmers met Monday with the tehsildar to lodge a complaint regarding drainage facilities in a number of villagers under Bonth block of Bhadrak district. They said that due to a lack of proper drainage facilities, more than a hundred acres of farmlands are lying submerged under water for many days. It is preventing them from growing crops. The villages where the farmlands are underwater are Sahadapalli, Begana, and Budagadhia. Locals informed that a few years back a drainage facility existed at Sahadapalli Chowk along the side of the NilokaChhatabara PWD road. Excess water due to rains accumulating in Olama, Bhandaragadhia, Sahadapalli, Begana, and Budagadhia villages use to flow out through this drain into the Reba River.
Problems started three years back when a person constructed a house adjacent to the drain thereby blocking a portion of it. Now water cannot flow out through the drain like it used to do in the past. Farmers alleged that due to this problem, most of the time the farmlands are submerged under four feet or more water preventing them from growing crops. Also due to a lack of drainage, water is flooding some of the residences of the three villages. Acting on the complaint lodged Monday, an additional tehsildar of Bonth, Binitarini Kisku visited the spot Tuesday. Kisku talked to the agitating farmers and gave instructions to clear the portion of the drain which has been blocked. Kisku also asked the house owner to clear all materials blocking the drain.
