CUTTACK: Flood in the Mahanadi river system may have helped clean the Ansupa lake but farmers of Banki are worried about the accumulation of weeds on their land. The farmers of the Kadalibadi gram panchayat in the block are the worst hit. Over 700 acres of farmland in the panchayat were completely damaged in the flood. Now, even as the floodwater has receded, the farmers are concerned about the accumulation of weeds, swept away from Ansupa lake into their already damaged farmland.
“I had undertaken Kharif paddy cultivation on 2.5 acres of land by spending over Rs 45,000. The transplanted paddy field was completely damaged after remaining submerged under 10 feet of floodwater for more than a week. Now, the floodwater has already receded but my damaged land is filled with ‘Naga Dala’ weed (Eichhornia). I am worried about undertaking Dalua paddy cultivation by removing the weed from my ravaged cropland,” said Upendra Bhanja, a farmer of Malabiharpur village.
The affected farmers of the panchayat have urged both the Revenue and the Agriculture departments to conduct a field survey and provide financial assistance to them for clearing their farmland of weeds.
On the other hand, the flood has come as a boon for Ansupa, the largest freshwater lake in Odisha. Earlier, floodwater from the Mahanadi river used to enter Ansupa through a channel called Mayurinala clearing the weed in the lake. But the natural de-weeding process came to a halt as the channel was deactivated after the Mahanadi embankment was raised following the 1982 and 1985 floods.
The State government launched a comprehensive de-weeding process to clean the lake using an amphibious weed harvester procured by Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) from Sweden in December 2018. But since no steps were initiated for the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the lake remained covered by weeds.
However, floodwater of 17 to 18 feet height from Mahanadi entered the Ansupa through Mayurinala this year. It swept away the weed from the river to cultivated farmland nearby. “We have engaged around 40 labourers to clear the remaining weed in the lake from Friday to boost tourism,” said ACF Binod Acharya.