Crops In Over 1.20 Lakh Hectares Damaged In Odisha Floods

Bhubaneswar: Crops in around 1.2 lakh hectares of agricultural land were estimated to have been damaged by the recent floods which affected as many as 24 districts of Odisha, sources said on Tuesday.

While 24 of the 30 districts in the state were affected by the floods, extensive damage was caused to the standing crops and other structures in ten districts, according to preliminary damage assessment report based on information received from different districts.

Worst hit was Jagatsinghpur district where standing crops in around 2420 hectares of farm land were washed away by floodwaters, sources said adding that Puri and Kendrapada districts were also severely affected as vast areas remained marooned for days, causing severe loss to the farmers.

Agriculture Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain had on Monday reviewed the damage caused to farmers in the recent floods and rains in the state.

Apart from Puri, Cuttack, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur, districts like Sonepur and Boudh have also witnessed substantial crop damage, sources said, adding that Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts also suffered extensive damage due to  floods in Subarnarekha, Baitarani and Budhabalanga rivers.

In Nimapada area of Puri district, over 7,000 hectares of paddy and non-paddy farmlands in 18 panchayats have been affected due to floods in Dhanua and Kusabhadra rivers, sources said.

This apart, crops on hectares of land were destroyed and vegetables cultivation in the farmland at Athagarh and Tigiria have been severely damaged due to floods.

Many farmers who have grown seasonal vegetables and paddy after taking loans have incurred huge losses. They had availed loans for cultivation from cooperative societies and banks.

While transplanting of paddy is in progress in areas not affected by the flood, the Agriculture department has advised the farmers to go for re-sowing or planting early maturing varieties of paddy in medium and low land where the crop damage is about 50 per cent or more, sources said.

The Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) in an advisory to the government and farmers has suggested that rabi crops be taken up where paddy crop damage is extensive and there is less possibility of growth for short-duration paddy crops.