JEYPORE: Acute shortage of urea fertiliser has severely affected the ongoing kharif cultivation in Kotpad block of Koraput district, leaving farmers in a lurch.
Sources said farmers of 17 panchayats in Kotpad have cultivated paddy in around 10,000 hectare of land. The crop now requires the first dose of urea for proper plant growth. However, unavailability of adequate stock of the fertiliser has disrupted the cultivation process.
Farmers said the Kotpad large area multipurpose cooperative society (LAMPS), which is the primary urea supplier in the area, lacks sufficient fertiliser to meet their demands. “We have been visiting the LAMPS since the last 10 days but to no avail. Over 5,000 farmers of the block have submitted their Aadhaar cards but are yet to receive the fertiliser,” they alleged.
Expressing frustration over the situation, Kotpad Krushak Samaj leader Sukriya Pradhan said, “Not a single bag of urea is available for farmers. If such a situation continues, farmers will be forced to take to the streets.”
Kotpad tehsildar Twinkle Sethy said the LAMPS has 1,700 quintal of urea which will be distributed to farmers in the coming days. “Farmers need not panic over supply of urea fertiliser. The administration will supply more urea to the panchayats to meet the demand of farmers in next couple of days,” she added.
Kotpad LAMPS authorities appealed to farmers to collect their urea quota from their respective panchayats within six days by providing their Aadhaar details and land records.