Kendrapara: Agriculture is the mainstay of people in Kendrapara district but lack of proper water management has hit them hard. Over 69 per cent of the residents in this district are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. However, the lack of proper irrigation facilities to their farmlands, as well as a drainage system, has affected the growth and development of agriculture in the district. This has happened despite seven rivers and 27 distributaries flowing through the district. There is an abundance of water, but much of it is wasted due to a lack of proper management, farmers alleged. The Mahanadi-Chitrotpala water project supplies water to the Kendrapara, Pattamundai, and Gobari canals.
Even then, half of the farmlands in the district do not get water during cultivation. Similarly, drainage of leftover water that ingresses the farmlands during rain, floods, and cyclonic storms is a major problem. Out of the nine blocks, Aul, Rajnagar, and Rajkanika do not have any canals. The Water Resources, Agriculture, Panchaytiraj and Lift Irrigation departments have been working in these blocks to ease water scarcity. The Odisha government has also announced that it will provide irrigation to 35 per cent of the farmlands in each block. However, these departments have not shown enough promptness to fulfill the government’s aim. Reports said that out of 28,070 hectares of farmland in Mahakalpara block only 24.31 per cent of get water.
In Rajnagar, out of 25,895 hectares, only 19.16 per cent of farmlands have a water supply. The district Agriculture department has said that it is providing irrigation facilities to 47,727 hectares of farmlands out of 1,54,000 hectare through canals. Over 30,781 hectare of farmlands get water through lift irrigation points and shallow tube wells while 10,724 hectares are provided with water from other sources, it added.
Farmers, however, contradicted the statements of the Agriculture department. Farmers Niranjan Parida in Kendrapara block, Susant Nayak and Tulu Pradhan (both from Rajkanika block) and Sunil Kumar Gantayat of Mahakalpara block alleged that water does not reach downstream due to heavy growth of weeds and dumping of garbage in the canals. They added that the ‘Pani panchayat’ formed by the Lift Irrigation department has turned into a farce while government funds are allegedly being misappropriated by some officials. The lift irrigation points have turned defunct due to lack of power supply over outstanding electricity bills. The motors have also developed technical snags and are of no use at present, farmers said.