Over 3,000 tonnes of stocked paddy were damaged and harvested paddy in over 10,000 acres was washed away by flood water in Jeypore sub-division due to continuous rain for past five days.
The farmers of Jeypore, Kotpad, Borrigumma and Kundra blocks had cultivated paddy in over 50,000 acres of land during January and only 30 per cent crops was harvested till June 1. While cutting and threshing of the rest crop was going on, rains washed away the hard labour of the farmers. Over 30,000 farmers of these areas have sustained crop loss.
Standing paddy crop in hundreds of acres was washed away in Jeypore, Kundra and Kotpad blocks as flood water entered the fields. The harvested crop lying in the open for drying was also damaged giving no chance to farmers to get a single grain from the field.
Besides, paddy harvested and stocked by farmers in Kundra and Jeypore blocks for marketing in mandis have also been damaged.
The farmers of Ghatvagara, Dangarpaunci, Umuri, Badakaudi, Ekamaba, Dhanpur, Digapur, Majurmunda, Putra, Hadia, Konga and Nuagam areas are worst affected. “I have lost about 100 bags of paddy harvested from four acres of land and have no hope to get a single paisa,” said Ratnakar Naraji, a farmer of Ghatvagara village in Jeypore block.
Jeypore LAMP sources said thousands of paddy bags purchased recently by different mandis are in knee-deep water and there is little chance to send it for processing.
Ironically, neither the Collector nor the disaster management officials have visited the affected areas.
Bhawanipatna: The flash flood due to heavy rain in the last two days in the district has severely affected paddy procurement process in the district. Paddy kept in the mandis and threshing ground of farmers after harvest has been damaged.
The delay in paddy procurement led to extensive damage as the farmers and administration were caught off-guard. Besides, out of 87 Mills engaged in the last Kharif season, only 44 were eligible to participate in the procurement process. The rice mills that supplied 60 per cent of the rice in the Kharif season are eligible for rabi crop procurement as per new Government policy.
The millers are also not keen on participating in the procurement process as they alleged that the FCI and Supply Corporation are not lifting rice due to space constraint in their godowns.