JAGATSINGHPUR: Farmers of Jagatsinghpur were left ruing their luck after fresh bouts of rains in the last 24 hours cast a shadow on the harvesting of their paddy crops.
Rains caused by the low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal lashed different areas of the district for the last two days. Farmers said rainwater has already entered the crop fields where they had left their harvested paddy to dry. If the situation continues for another two days, the paddy crops will begin to rot.
Sources said with around 60,000 hectares of paddy crop in the harvesting stage across the eight blocks of Jagatsinghpur, more rains may exacerbate waterlogging in fields, leading to significant losses for farmers.
A farmer of Deriki village in Naugaon block Sudarsan Nayak said, “Our fields have become waterlogged, making it extremely difficult to harvest the crops. My two acres of paddy crops are underwater. With the forecast of more rain, I fear my crop will be completely damaged.”
Sharing similar concerns, another farmer said if his ready-to-harvest paddy crop is damaged due to rain, it would be impossible for him to repay the loan he took from the local cooperative society for kharif cultivation.
Chief district agriculture officer Biswajeet Panda said only 20 per cent paddy crops have been harvested so far. He admitted that the situation may worsen if rainfall continues for next two days.