Basudevpur: Though Basudevpur block in Bhadrak district is a major paddy producing area, worry is writ large on the faces of farmers due to the possibility of a drought, courtesy deficient rainfall in the current season.
Thousands of acres in the area have remained uncultivated due to shortage of rainfall amid apprehensions that there is no escape from a sure drought. At some places, agriculture activities were abandoned due to water crunch.
Though farmers made efforts for row-wise planting of saplings in their farmlands, it had to be abandoned for want of water in the land.
According to reports, over 10,000 hectares have not been tilled yet. The area recorded just 100 mm rainfall in August against the required 466 mm.
There is 34,400 hectares of arable land in the area spread over 36 panchayats and 23 wards. The agriculture department set out to cover 32,372 hectares in the current kharif out of which only 22,372 hectares have been covered till date.
Farmers averred that they had been sitting idle awaiting rain. Their agriculture activities were severely affected due to scanty rainfall. The agriculture department set a target to adopt row-wise plantation over 600 hectares in six panchayats of Karanjaadia, Nayakanidiha, Iram, Gobindapur, Jagannathpur and Padhuan.
“The area was supposed to receive 466 mm rainfall in August. However, less than 100 mm rainfall was recorded. Agricultural activities were severely affected due to insufficient rainfall. Over 10,000 hectares lie untilled,” said assistant agriculture officer Laxmidhar Sahu said.
To boost agriculture, the lift irrigation department has set up 197 points in eight clusters in Iram, Damodarpur, Nuagan, Uhad, Chudamani, Adhuan, Nuagan (2), Jagannath and Bachhada. Of them, 32 are lying defunct while nine others are not working properly.
In the current situation, lift irrigation points are under the control of pani panchayats. Engineer of the lift irrigation department Satyanarayan Chakraborty, divisional officer Jashobant Pradhan and employee of the energy department Upendra Prasad Mallick urged farmers to make the defunct lift irrigation points operational.
However, famers wanted the support of the energy department to reboot these points. PNN
