DROUGHT STARES B’NGIR IN FACE AS RAINFALL GOES SCANT Wednesday, 12 August 2015 | SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR | in Bhubaneswar

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DROUGHT STARES B’NGIR IN FACE AS RAINFALL GOES SCANT

Wednesday, 12 August 2015 | SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR | in Bhubaneswar

Balangir which is infamous for frequent occurrence of drought and consequent distress migration is all set to face another spell of drought situation with monsoon having played truant.

Rains have eluded farmers here at a time they are badly needed. In the absence of assured irrigation to the paddy field, farmers have resigned to their fate.

Expecting a minimum normal monsoon, the Agriculture Department hadtargeted to take up paddy cultivation in 1, 85,000 hectares of land this year in the district.

According to Agriculture office sources, as there was normal rainfall in June, farmers took up broadcasting method of paddy cultivation in 1, 18,727 hectares out of a total of 1,18,727 hectares. Transplanting of paddy has been taken up in 29,960 hectares out of 76,600 hectares.

Paddy cultivation has to go through the crucial operations like transplanting and related works which require standing water or a heavy rainfall of more than 60 mm in a day throughout the district.

The district received only 249 mm rainfall in July this year against an average rainfall of 360 mm.

Till August 10, the district has received only 25.9mm rainfall which is woefully inadequate to carry out further agricultural operations.

So far, the rainfall has helped to keep the soil wet and plant alive. But further agriculture operations like transplanting of paddy saplings require heavy rain.

Paddy cultivation in the district has been undertaken in two ways, broadcasting and transplanting method. In the broadcasting method, farmers sowed the seed in summer/first week of June.

In this process, farmers plough paddy fields again in order to clear weeds.

In the second process, paddy seedlings are raised in a nursery and after nearly 21 days, the saplings are planted in the field for which much water is required.

But neither in the month of July nor till August 9 last there was a heavy rainfall of more than 60 mm in a day throughout the district. The rainfall was localised and erratic. As a result, the paddy seedling nursery bed has been “old”. Wherever planted, the soil in the paddy filed has started cracking and it is heading for grim situation of drought, says an Agriculture official.

What is more intriguing  is even though the district has experienced severe drought as monsoon rainfall plays truant ,yet no assured irrigation system has been developed nor the farm pond technique implemented to conserve water in paddy field.

Worse still, the local water bodies, like Muda, Kata, pond and others which provide crucial life saving irrigation, are not having adequate water for lack of maintenance.

Meanwhile, members of Bolangir Zilla Krushak Mahasangha led by Sudhir Parschha in its recent meeting decided to stage a dharna before the district collectorate on August 12 demanding fulfilment of different demands which include extension of crop insurance deadlineand other remedial measures to tackle the impending drought.