Even though floodwaters have started receding in some areas, many areas of Bari, Binjharpur, Dasarathpur and Korei blocks in Jajpur district are still inundated forcing people to wade through muddy water which at places is waist-deep.
“In many villages, people have cut the roads to allow floodwaters to flow. It would take at least two months to build the damaged roads in the flood-hit areas,” said Akash Jena of Ahiasa.
The disaster has completely shattered the rural economy of the district, particularly in blocks of Dasarathpur, Korei, Jajpur, Bari and Binjharpur, as prospects of good harvest this year were washed away by the floods.
About 44,408 hectares of paddy and 40,763 hectares of other agricultural produces were submerged in floodwater in the district. “We are assessing the crop loss in the district,” said Deputy Director of Agriculture Bimal Kumar Raptan.
Many farmers in Dimiripala, Ketuapala, Earadanga and other villages have shown their damaged paddy crops to the officials on their visit to assess the damage.
Seeing his submerged paddy field, Arjun Swain, a farmer from Bari, said, “I had raised paddy on my four acres of land and expected a good harvest. But this flood has dashed my hopes.”
Post-flood situation has already caused shortage of grains, pulses and vegetables and thereby has caused sky-rocketing of food prices. Biswaranjan Mallick, a Congress leader, alleged that the Government is paying only lip service to the hapless people. On the ground nothing is being done to mitigate their woes. “I visited many flood-affected villages where people have not yet received relief,” he said.
Sand cast is also a major problem in many flood-affected areas as the floodwater deposited sands on the agricultural fields. It would take farmers another year to clear the sands from their land, said Umesh Singh, another farmer of Bari.