JAGATSINGHPUR: Heavy rainfall and strong winds caused by Cyclone Dana have damaged paddy, millet, and other vegetable crops across Jagatsinghpur district, leaving farmers distressed about their losses.
Although the district administration maintains that the crops can recover once the rainwater is discharged from the fields, farmers remain unconvinced and are calling for a proper assessment of crop loss.
Sources indicate that strong winds of up to 50 to 60 km/h have impacted paddy fields across several hectares in Harishpur, Gopalpur, Bidyadharpur, Chapda, Gokulpur, Eradanga, Deulishai, Ramchandrapur, Purnabasant, Redhua, Kotakona, Adheikula, Sanatihada, and other villages in Raghunathpur, as well as in blocks such as Kujang, Erasama, Biridi, Balikuda, and Naugaon.
The paddy crops, which were in their panicle stage, were flattened by the storm, while millet crops in the Biridi area, also nearing harvest, suffered significant damage. Vegetable crops were similarly affected. The district administration reported a loss of paddy crops on over 2,498 hectares but later stated that the damage was not permanent and that recovery was possible after water is drained from the fields. However, farmers are urging immediate discharge of excess water from their lands.
They have further requested the district administration to conduct a thorough survey to assess the actual damage caused to their crops.
With nearly 60 percent of the local population relying on agriculture for their livelihood, farmers who had taken loans from cooperative societies and other sources are now spending sleepless nights worrying about incurring severe losses.
Niranjan Sethi, the sarpanch of Manguli panchayat, noted that farmers in Biridi, encouraged by Agriculture Department officials, had cultivated millet across hundreds of acres. “However, the crops, which were in their harvesting stage, have been damaged by the cyclone,” he added. Farmer leaders Babaji Charan Jena and Rasmiranjan Swain have urged the district administration for a proper assessment and compensation for affected farmers.
Chief District Agriculture Officer Biswajit Panda stated that the damage to paddy crops has yet to be fully assessed, and field staff have been deployed for this purpose.
