BANKI: The rain and subsequent flood in Mahanadi has dealt a severe blow to Jaladhar Samal, a farmer of Ghasiput under Kuspangi gram panchayat in Banki block. Sixty-five year-old Samal, whose 1.5 acre farm was inundated in the flood water, had taken a hand loan from a neighbour for growing vegetables. After preparing the land, he had sown seeds of different kinds of seasonal vegetables like ridge gourd, ladies finger, snake gourd, pumpkin, brinjal and beans by spending around `45,000 on tilling, labour, seeds, fertiliser and pesticide.
After lying submerged under flood water for around five days, all the plants on Samal’s farm now stand damaged. “I feed my family of five by cultivating vegetables. Now I am worried about repaying my loan and taking care of my family,” said Samal.
Similar is the plight of Sarat Mantri (58) of the village who had undertaken paddy cultivation on his three acre of land by spending over Rs 50,000. With his crop submerged under 12 feet flood water, Mantri has lost all hope. “The transplanted paddy field will be washed away by the time the flood water recedes. The precious top soil is also lost with sand casting. Now, I have to spend a lot of money again on labour and compost to prepare the land for the next sowing season,” he said.
Like Samal and Mantri, hundreds of paddy and vegetables farmers of Banki, Damapada and Athagarh blocks are in distress as the flood has caused widespread damage to their farm lands. The three blocks contribute the most to Chhatra Bazaar in Cuttack city, the largest vegetable market of the State.
The effect of damage to the vegetable crops due to flood is clearly visible in the market where the prices of most vegetables have spiked. “Except potato, onion and pumpkin, the price of other greens has increased. We have to import the vegetables from other states like West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka owing to unavailability of local vegetables due to flood,” said Chhatra Bazaar Byabasai Sangha president Debendra Sahoo.
As per preliminary assessment conducted by district agriculture officials, a total of 7,922 hectare of vegetable farm has been submerged under flood water in the 14 blocks of Cuttack district which include the highest 2,800 hectare in Banki, followed by 2,485 hectare in Damapada, 865 hectare in Athagarh, 747 hectare in Badamba and 480 hectare in Narasinghpur block.
Similarly, of the total 28,010 hectare of paddy cultivated land lying submerged under flood water across the district, the highest 6,340 hectare is in Damapada block followed by 5,600 hectare in Banki, 3,116 hectare in Badamba, 3,090 hectare in Narasinghpur, 2,509 hectare in Niali and 1,462 hectare in Athagarh block and Nischintakoili blocks.
“Vegetable farms in the flood affected areas have been completely damaged. Damage of paddy crops will be assessed after flood water recedes from the fields,” said Chief district agriculture officer Niranjan Das.