Ananadapur: An artificial flood swept through hectares of farmland and three villages – Baladuan, Pandua and Chamardar – under Anandapur block in Keonjhar district after there were breaches on the left side canal of Baitarani barrage Sunday. Farmers in the area have suffered huge losses, a report said.
The work of the left side canal is underway. Sarala and Patra Construction agencies are carrying out the work.
Saturday night rainwater gushed through the canal and made breaches at five to six places at Baladuan, Chamarda and Pandua.
As rainwater from the canal flooded the area, many fish growers have lost their pisciculture with ponds submerged under water.
Chakradhar Das, Jaydev Das, Purnachandra Das and Banamali Das have lost their fish and other crops.
Chakradhar had lost 40 quintals of fish along with fingerlings worth Rs 1.40 crore; Purnachandra lost 30 quintals of fish; Jaydev lost 20 quintals and Banamali lost five quintals of fish.
Besides, vegetable farming, poultry and over 150 acres of paddy crop have been severely affected by the artificial flood.
Even houses of four families caved in at Pandua. Locals demanded assessment of the damage.
The executive engineer of the water resources department, the BDO and the RI visited the area took stock of the damage Sunday.
Meanwhile, affected people warned of an agitation if they are not compensated.
The locals alleged that such a situation has cropped up due to shoddy construction of the canals by the two agencies.
They also demanded a probe into the quality of the work and compensation for the extensive damage.
PNN