KENDRAPARA: Farmers of Endar village under Derabishi block of the district are a worried lot after a breach in the embankment of no 8 branch canal under Kendrapara Irrigation Division on Wednesday night caused extensive damage to their moong (green gram) crops.
Akhil Jena, a moong farmer, said around 80-feet-long canal embankment caved as a result of which water and weeds have flown into 300 acre agriculture land of the village. “The canal embankment was repaired last year but collapsed due to substandard work,” he alleged.
Another farmer Fakirmohan Behera said he had grown moong crops on over two acre land some months back but now his field is covered with weeds after ingress of canal water.
“The incident took place due to non-repair of the canal embankment by the authorities concerned. The canal water has inundated our agriculture fields. The authorities must repair the breach to prevent further flow of water into our croplands,” said Basant Rout, a farmer. The farmers have further demanded that a survey be done to assess the extent of damage and appropriate compensation paid to them.
Meanwhile, farmers residing in the tail-end of the canal are concerned over the likelihood of not receiving enough water for their crops. “We solely depend on the canal water for our agriculture activities and the incident has led to huge wastage of water. All our hopes of reaping a good harvest this year stands shattered,” said Sanatan Rout, a farmer of Jagannathpur village. Assistant executive engineer of Kendrapara Irrigation division Akshya Kumar Mallick said plugging work of the breach is underway on war-footing and will be completed soon. “We suspect some miscreants might have cut the canal embankment in the night. However, we are inquiring the matter,” he said.
Agriculture officer of Derabishi block Banalata Behera said she met the affected farmers after getting to know of the incident. “I will submit a report to the district administration in this regard soon. All the affected farmers will get proper help from the authorities,” she assured.