Protest meetings were held in front of different block offices of Nuapada district by the BJP Krushak Morcha on Thursday.
Hundreds of party members participated and discussed failure of the Naveen Patnaik Government to provide succor to the farmers of Nuapada district who have suffered heavily due to the devastating drought in rainfed areas and pest attack in irrigated areas of the district.
“Drought is a regular phenomenon in Nuapada district; it occurs every alternate year, but the Government has no policy or programme to address the issue comprehensively,” said BJP Krushak Morcha president Sanjay Tiwari at Khariar meeting. Other party members like Ajit Chalan, Pravari of media cell, Gautam Tandi, president, Inndradi Mandal, Nimai Tandi, convener, SC Morcha also spoke on failure of Odisha Government.
“Drought is visiting consecutively for last three years, but the Government in no way seems careful about creating permanent solution to this staggering problem. Construction of the lower Indra Irrigation Project which started with an estimated cost of Rs 217 crore but is yet to be completed even after eighteen years and eight-fold cost escalation,” lamented the leaders. The issues of low quality seeds and pesticide, Minimum Support Prices of agricultural crops and inflated procurement of paddy irrespective of failure of crop were also raised.
Tiwari criticized the decision of the district administration for not including lands under the ayacut of lift Irrigation Projects (lI) as ‘land under assured irrigation’. “The State Relief Commissioner responding to the demand of Krushak Sakti Sangathan, Khariar in 2013 had clarified that the land under the ayacut of lI points should be taken as land under assured irrigation for the purpose of payment of agricultural input subsidy for crop loss, but the district administration by defying that direction is depriving farmers of their due rights,” he said.
Memorandums addressed to the Governor of Odisha were submitted to the BDOs of respective blocks. In Nuapada block, the memorandum was submitted to the Deputy Director of Agriculture.