JAGATSINGHPUR/KENDRAPARA: Although cyclone Jawad weakened into a depression on Saturday, incessant rains for two days under its impact have left farmers of Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara in trouble with crops in large tracts of land remaining submerged.
Sources said, despite warnings from the Agriculture department about the impending cyclone, farmers in Jagatsinghpur failed to harvest the paddy early on because of shortage of manpower and non-availability of harvesting machines to enter fields which are still muddy after unseasonal rains in September. “Standing crops have now been damaged due to pounding rains. How will we repay the loans that we had availed from the local cooperative societies for cultivation during this kharif season?” questioned Santosh Sahoo, a farmer from Deulisahi under Raghunathpur block.
The district received 270 mm rainfall under the influence of the storm till now, with Erasama receiving the highest 76 mm. Two teams each of NDRAF and ODRAF continue to be deployed in Paradip and Erasama besides 14 teams of fire fighters and police personnel at sea beaches in the nearby coastal areas.
A total of 359 persons under Jagatsinghpur municipality, Erasama, Balikuda and Naugaon blocks have been evacuated to local cyclone shelters with free kitchen facility. Along side, 114 pregnant women were shifted to the nearest healthcare centre out of which 85 have delivered safely.
Around 69 fishing boats of Andhra Pradesh which failed to return due to the storm wind have anchored at Paradip port with PPT authorities providing relief materials to the stranded fishermen. The plight of farmers in Kendrapara district is no different as tidal waves entered sea-side villages on the day leading to water-logging in most places.
As water entered houses, locals of Talachua, Kandarapatia, Batighar, Kharinashi, Ramanagar, Badatubi, Sanatubi, Bagapatia, Kansar, Badasanda, Suniti, Ajagarapatia, Barahapur and Jamboo reportedly remained confined to their homes for the past two days.
“Despite repeated requests, around 50 sluice gates and a major portion of the saline embankment in the seaside villages of Rajnagar and Mahakalapada blocks are yet to be repaired. So water entering villages and homes is natural,” alleged president of the district unit of Krushak Sabha Umesh Chandra Singh.
Contacted, district Emergency officer Hemalata Bahalia said block development officers of the affected areas have been instructed to submit a report of saline ingress in the seaside villages at the earliest.