Jajpur: Loss of forest cover for rampant mining of black stones has led to variation in rainfall pattern in this district which in turn has proved to be a bane for the farmers here as rainwater is essential for paddy cultivation, a report said Sunday. The month of July is important for paddy cultivation in the kharif season.
However, rain has eluded the farmers this July in Jajpur district. The normal precipitation should be 350.9 mm by July 20 but the district has recorded only 203.12 mm of rainfall during this period which is 42 per cent less. What is more surprising is that Dharmasala block has experienced only 98 mm rainfall, the lowest in the district owing to rampant black stone mining being done by denuding the forest cover. Dharmasala experiencing the lowest rainfall has surprised the environmentalists. They apprehend that the day is not far off when the area will turn into a desert if mining goes on unabated and unchecked.
Sources said that farmers’ dependence on rains to irrigate their farmland has increased with time mainly due to the lack of any viable irrigation facility in the district. The facilities that are available in the district are substandard and of no use to the farmers’ irrigation needs. The mega lift irrigation points have failed to resolve the irrigation woes of the farmers.
Moreover, the state government has failed to use the water of Brahmani and Baitarani, two major rivers flowing through the district, for irrigation with over 90 per cent water of these rivers flowing straight into the sea. The state government is aware of this fact but is yet to establish an irrigation project upstream of these two rivers. While farmers have no way to make use of the two rivers’ water, industrial plants exploit it abundantly.
As a result, the district’s farmers are forced to depend on rainfall for irrigation. However, rain continues to play hide and seek with the farmers due to acute pollution, rampant stone mining, and the resultant loss of green cover impacting the rainfall pattern in the district. Loss of green cover due to stone mining is so glaring that vast tracts of forest in Balarampur reserve forest, Bichhakhandi, Kusunpur, Mukundpur, Nischanta sanctuary, Dankari, Malgoda, and Rahadpur spread till the border of Dhenkanal district are now on the verge of extinction.
Stone extraction through the blasting of explosives is taking place on a daily basis due to a lack of necessary action on the part of the state government or the district administration. This has contributed to atmospheric pollution which further leads to change in climate and reduced rainfall in the district. The common people and farmers are the worst sufferers of stone blasting and only a handful of political and government personnel are benefitting. Dharmasala Assembly Development Committee (ACDC) had promised stringent action against the loot of minor minerals but it has turned out to be a fluke. It is alleged that the political representatives, in connivance with revenue officials, are promoting rampant black stone mining to collect money for the upcoming elections. Rules mandate that entering the reserve forest area, taking vehicles inside, or carrying out any illegal work there is a punishable offence under Section-27 of the Forest Act.
However, the rule has been thrown to the winds in the Dalijoda forest range area under Cuttack forest division as black stone mining and transportation are taking place daily in complete violation of norms.
Locals held the greed and bribery of some senior forest officials responsible for the illegal stone mining going overboard and the resultant denudation of the green cover in Dalijoda forest range. They alleged that police and revenue officials are also assisting them in this loot. Illegal mining has claimed the lives of many but police and revenue officials are covering up such incidents to shield influential politicos. When contacted, Cuttack DFO Ajit Satapthy said he will order a probe to ascertain the nature of the forested area. The Forest department will take action under Section-27 if it is a reserve forest area but the tehsil officials will have to take action.
