Fear of crop loss in Phethai effect grips farmers
BHUBANESWAR: Even as cyclone Phethai will not cause any damage in the State, the rain in its impact is set to play havoc, particularly for farmers whose paddy crop is either in harvesting stage or has been harvested in southern and western regions.
Jeypore: Hundreds of farmers in Koraput and Kalahandi districts are in distress as thousands of hectares of standing crops are likely to be damaged due to cyclone-induced rains which lashed several parts of the south Odisha on Sunday.
According to reports, moderate rainfall began from Saturday night at isolated places of Korpaut district and it covered all pockets on Sunday. While the sky remained overcast in many parts of the district, gusty wind along with rain was recorded in Jeypore, Koraput, Kotpad and Sunabeda paralysing normal life.
harbour in Kendrapara district
| Express
Shops and business establishments remained closed for the day due to cold and damp weather. Roads and lanes in the township and rural areas wore a deserted look as people preferred to stay indoors. Besides, low traffic flow was recorded on NH-26 passing from Koraput to Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Farmers of Jeypore, Kotpad, Borrigumma, Kunduta and Boipariguda skipped their kharif crop cutting and harvesting fearing damage due to untimely rains. Farmers were found covering their threshed paddy stocks with polythene to protect it from rain. They are fearing that ripe paddy crops would be damaged if heavy rain lashes the district.
Meanwhile, tension prevailed at Dangarpaunsi village after some farmers, who dumped their paddy stocks at mandis for selling, alleged that no step has been taken to protect their produce from the unseasonal rain.
They demanded that their paddy bags be lifted from the mandis to a safe place by the officials of the LAMPS. Later, the district officials rushed to the spot and pacified the farmers.
Bhawanipatna: In Kalahandi district, Collector Parag Harshad Gavali directed the Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) and Regulated Market Committees (RMCs) to allow farmers to store their paddy in the nearby sheds free of cost for three days. However, several farmers are struggling to save their harvested paddy in threshing grounds. On the other hand, out of 174 paddy purchasing centres, only 48 centres have permanent sheds.
Though there is no threat to Odisha, the Meteorological department has predicted heavy rainfall in Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Kandhamal districts on Monday. The State Government had asked the district administrations to take necessary steps to protect the paddy kept in mandis.
Malkangiri: Ahead of landfall of the cyclone between Ongole and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh on Monday, light rain was recorded in Malkangiri district on Sunday afternoon. Cloudy sky and cool breeze forced people to remain indoors.
Panic gripped farmers, who had kept paddy stocks in the field for drying after crop cutting and dumped paddy bags at mandis for procurement, fearing damage due to untimely rain. Several farmers reportedly even didn’t get enough time to shift their reaped paddy from fields to safe places and cover the paddy stacks.
Meanwhile, the district administration has supplied polythene sheets to farmers and asked them to protect their produce from the rain.
Collector Manish Agarwal, in his letter, has asked all the district level and line department officials to remain alert and put their administrative machineries in full preparedness to meet any eventuality.
Agarwal has directed the District Civil Supply Officer and the Deputy Director of Agriculture department to inform the farmers about the storm and take necessary measures to protect the crops.
Alert sounded for fishermen
Kendrapara: The district administration on Sunday alerted marine fishermen not to venture into the sea in the wake of cyclone warning by the Met department. Around 2,000 fishermen have returned from the sea after being informed of the possible cyclone, said Narayan Haldar, secretary of Odisha Masyajibi Forum.
The administration has also asked revenue and other department officials of coastal areas to maintain strict vigil on cyclone movement round the clock. District Emergency Officer Sambeet Satapathy said the Block Development Officers (BDOs) of Mahakalapada and Rajnagar have been instructed to evacuate the seaside villagers to safer places. Even as the authorities sounded caution, residents of the coastal villagers were told not to panic. However, a large number of frightened villagers are prepared to shift to safer places, said Arjun Mandal, a resident of Batighar village. Over 220 cyclone shelters in the seaside villages of the district are being readied.