Expressbuzz, Nov 5, 2009
BHAWANIPATNA: Farmers of Sagbari and Kusabahi villages under Kalampur block of Kalahandi district yesterday began their indefinite hunger strike in front of the block office seeking government intervention into crop damage.
Paddy crop over thousands of hectares, particularly in irrigated pockets of Indravati project, had been damaged by pests.
The crops that were affected to some extent by caterpillars and Sheath Blight disease at the growth stage, have now been damaged by Brown plant hoppers and cash worm varieties of pests. The agitating farmers alleged that agriculture officials did not pay adequate attention to the problem in the initial stage as a result of which, the crop condition deteriorated. They demanded compensation to farmers at the rate of Rs 10,000 per acre, crop insurance benefits to those farmers who had insured their crops, waiver in water tax, interest waiver on crop loans, issuance of fresh loans for ensuing rabi season and provision of irrigation water through right canal of Indravati project.
Earlier, Kalahandi District Collector R. S. Gopalan had visited the affected villages and assessed the situation. Dharamgarh Sub-Collector Jagannath Mohanty met the agitating farmers yesterday and urged them to drop their strike plan but in vain.
In Sagbari and Kusabahi villages, about 80 per cent of the standing paddy crop has been affected by diseases and pests.
Agriculture Officer of Dharamgarh agriculture district Suresh Chandra Mallick said that as per an assessment, paddy crop over 20,000 hectares in Indravati project ayacut areas has also been affected.
No comments:
Post a Comment