BERHAMPUR: Farmers of Ganjam’s Chikiti block are up in arms against the release of untreated effluent from illegal prawn farms which has reportedly destroyed standing crops over hundreds of acres of farmland in several seaside villages.
Over 30 farmers of Sunapur, Surala, Katuru, Suvani, and Eksingi panchayats of Chikiti on Friday went to the office of the local revenue inspector (RI) to lodge their protest and submitted a memorandum addressed to the Ganjam collector, and Chikiti BDO and tehsildar seeking action against the illegal prawn farms.
The farmers alleged that vast tracts of cultivable lands have been rendered useless due to the waste dumped by prawn farm owners. Many influential people of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have forcefully converted large stretches of government and forest lands into prawn farms.
“The prawn farm owners deliberately discharge effluent into paddy fields through canals in a bid to take over our farmlands. Many farmers lost their crops due to the inundation of farmland by the effluent during the harvesting period. We have been resisting the prawn farm owners since 2016 but there is no support from the administration,” alleged farmer Deendayal Reddy of R.Suvani village.
Another farmer D Satyanarayana of K.Suvani village said, “We had urged the district administration to take necessary action against the illegal prawn farms and save our crops. But all our pleas have fallen on deaf ears.”
K.Suvani sarpanch Jibananda Reddy claimed the prawn mafia are earning huge amounts of money and no one dares to resist them as their henchmen often guard the farms. “We will soon meet the district collector and demand a permanent solution for the menace,” he added.
Sources said at the start of the current kharif season, local farmers had appealed to the administration to stop the release of waste from prawn farms. As no steps were taken, standing paddy crops over 300 acres of land have been damaged.
Contacted, Chikiti tehsildar Biswaranjan Kanhar said according to government records, no prawn farm exists in the area. “If such farms exist, they are illegal. Destruction of crops by releasing wastewater is a serious offense. I will look into the allegations of farmers,” he said.
Kanhar, however, admitted that applications for the lease of land to set up prawn farms have been received. The applications are being examined.