PARADIP: Farmers of Dhinkia panchayat are now spending sleepless nights as their crops are facing destruction at the hands of wild animals on a regular basis. After their betel vines were cleared to pave way for the proposed steel plant by JSW, the locals had shifted to paddy and vegetables. Since there was no other means of sustenance, most farmers started growing paddy, green gram and vegetables on their private lands.
However, due to the clearance of forests for the project, many wild animals like deer and boars which inhabited the nearby jungles, started making way into these farmlands in search of food and water.
“We lost our betel vines because of the steel plant project. Some of us have not yet received compensation and since the plant is yet to be established, we don’t have any employment aid from the company as yet. So we cultivated paddy and other crops for our livelihood but now even they are being destroyed by the wild animals,” said the farmers of Dhinkia panchayat.
Bijay Das, a farmer from Dhinkia said he had cultivated paddy on three-acre land by taking private loans but his crops are being regularly destroyed by wild animals which intrude into the agriculture fields in search of food. “It will be very difficult for me to pay off my loans now,” he added. Village leader Nirvya Samantray said that both the administration and Forest department were apprised of the issue several times in the past but there was no response from their end.
Kujang range officer Ranjan Kumar Mishra and Rajnagar divisional forest officer SG Yadav were meanwhile not available to comment on the issue. Sources said the administration, after receiving nod from the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) in 2019 for clearance of forests for the proposed project, began demolishing the 2900 acre forest cover under Dhinkia panchayat for the purpose. During that time, betel vines in the area were also destroyed leaving farmers without any alternative means of livelihood.