Aradi: Yes, you read the headline right! Farmers in Aradi area of Bhadrak faced back-to-back eventualities this year – first erratic rainfall, second heavy rainfall and now ingress of saline water from sea. And, they have suffered huge losses in kharif paddy. Despite this blow, many farmers have cultivated short term paddy with hopes of compensating the kharif loss but saline water ingression has posed a major problem.
During tides, sea water gushes through Hansadia, a tributary of Salandi river. The saline water then percolates into farmlands. Last year, paddy across hectares of land got damaged due to saline water ingression.
To ward off this problem this year, scores of farmers got together Tuesday and Wednesday, and attempted to dam up the river with their toil and money. The farmers have purchased bamboo with their money and been trying to lay an earthen dyke across the river.
In the past, the farmers had repeatedly reminded their MLAs, some ministers and the Collector and other administrative officials about the need for a sluice gate which would at least check entry of sea water. We had received only assurances from them in the past but nothing has been materialised to alleviate our permanent plight, farmers lamented.
They pointed out if a sluice gate had been put in place across Hansadia river, farmers of 15 villages under Dhamnagar and Chandbali blocks would not be facing entry of sea water into their farmlands every year and losing their crops.
The dam will help prevent the sea water from gushing into farmlands caused by high tides during lunar eclipses. The dammed up water will be channelised through a different outlet bypassing the farmlands.
But the dam is not a permanent solution to their problem and a sluice gate is badly needed here, they added. They warned of agitation if the government failed to meet their demands.
PNN