After many people were thrown out of jobs because of closure of the local mines with introduction of mechanised mining in the Joda-Barbil mining sector, they tried their luck in the agriculture sector as an alternative source of income to maintain their family.
Accordingly, keeping an eye on the local markets, Joda, Barbil, Champua, Keonjhar town and outside market of Chainbasa and Jamshedpur-Tata, 13 farmers of Ramchadrapur of Kandra GP under Joda block had ploughed 5 acres of land to grow watermelon and muskmelon, highly demanded items in the summer season. But as ill luck would have it, just at the time of reaping the harvests, lockdown was imposed. As a result, their produce could not be transported. Meanwhile, the thunderstorm and hailstorm on Tuesday last damaged all the crops. Many farmers have been left in utter miseries.