Farmers of Bihaband and Danatoli villages of Rajgangpur block in Sundargarh district are a worried lot despite bumper crop.
They have been compelled to shift their harvested paddy to a safe place to avoid damage from water-logging. Others with standing crops are also staring at immediate crop damage due to massive release of water from the pit of the Lanjiberna dolomite and limestone mines of the cement major OCL India Ltd.
Sources said over the last fortnight authorities of the company have resorted to evacuation of water from the pit to facilitate further digging. Eventually, released water is flowing to farmlands at Bihaband and Danatoli villages.
Villagers claimed that over 200 acres are facing water-logging. Though they had informed the mines authorities, no action was taken.
Sundargarh Collector Rupa Roshan Sahu said the Deputy Director for Agriculture and the Rajgangpur Tehsildar would be rushed to the village on Monday to take appropriate action and submit a report.
