Bargarh: The farmers of Bargarh district are worried as pests have attacked their rabi crops nearing harvest, a report said Thursday.
The pest attack took the farmers by surprise as many of them had started harvesting while others were preparing to harvest.
The farmers now fear that the efforts they had put in to raise the crops will go in vain and that their lives will be hit.
The pest attack is mostly seen at Mandosil in the Padmapur sub-division of the district.
Concerned over the development, a farmer’s organisation named Anchalik Krushak Mahasangha had convened a meeting Monday and had submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister demanding compensation for crop loss.
The farmers said that they had lost 50 per cent of their crop after pests attacked 40 acres in Mandosil village. These are irrigated farmlands which get water from the Sahipala medium irrigation project in the Paikamal block of this district.
The farmers’ outfit demanded that the government should make an estimation of the loss and pay compensation. The farmers warned that they would stage a sit-in outside the Revenue Inspector’s office if their demands are not met within seven days.
Farmers Girirsh Kumar Dansana, Bikash Biswal and Fagulal Bariha participated in the meeting and signed the petition.