KENDRAPARA: Panic has gripped residents of seaside villages in Mahakalapada and Rajnagar blocks due to breaches in saline embankments at around 12 locations.
A 40-foot-long weak saline embankment collapsed at Kharinashi village due to high tide on Friday, resulting in the inundation of 3,000 acres of agricultural land. “Several farmers had cultivated paddy in July and were hoping to harvest it in December. But now they are in dire straits,” said Bibhuti Mandal, a local resident. Kamalakanta Sahoo of Krusnanagar village in Rajnagar said he had cultivated paddy on three acres of land and was expecting a December harvest. “The crop is destroyed now. I am apprehensive about how I will repay my loan,” he said.
Cyclone Dana also took a toll on vegetable crops in the district. Fakir Chandra Jena of Balabhadrapur village noted that vegetable farmers are now in need of financial assistance as their crops were ruined due to the storm. “Crops like radish, cabbage, cauliflower, pumpkin, ladyfinger, beans, and other seasonal vegetables were damaged due to incessant rains,” said Sarbeswar Sahani of Gobindapur.
Chief District Agriculture Officer Kalyan Ray stated, “As per our preliminary estimates, 28,426 hectares of agricultural land in 832 villages were affected by the cyclone. We have already directed all block agriculture officers to submit the names of the affected farmers. We will provide assistance to these farmers after receiving the damage report.” Reports indicate that over 6,000 acres of agricultural land were salinized due to the ingress of tidal waves in Talachua, Rangani, Nanjura, Santalipada, Panikhia, and other villages.
