Hundreds of farmers in Bhadrak district are in distress as thousands of hectares of standing crops are likely to be damaged due to cyclone ‘Bulbul’-induced rains which have already started in several parts the district. According to reports, moderate rainfall began from the wee hours of Friday at some places in the district. While the sky remained overcast in many parts of the district, gusty wind along with rain during afternoon was recorded in some blocks. Panic gripped farmers whose paddy crop is in harvesting stage. There are chances of damage to all their crops due to cyclone induced rain, lamented the farmers. Sources said two weeks back the district had faced heavy rain due to a low-pressure in the Bay of Bengal. Water in the paddy fields is yet to be released in villages like Gadagadi, Sahoosahi, Teli Patna and Sasana. The present situation has given rise to apprehensions among farmers. They expressed concern that their crops may get totally damaged following rain before harvesting. According to farmers the promised assistance for Hudhud and Fani cyclones- in the form of input subsidy has not yet reached many farmers in the district. Satyajit Rout, a farmer, said, we have given a memorandum demanding compensation for our crop loss due to previous cyclones but the district administration has put a deaf ear to our problem. Farmer Ramkanta Nayak said, the paddy is at the harvesting stage when the cyclone arrived at the most inopportune moment. “We expected good income from our crop this year, but like every year the natural calamity will destroy all our labour” added Nayak. Surendra Sahoo, a vegetable farmer, said, locals of Bhadrak district primarily depend upon vegetables and paddy cultivation for their livelihood. But cyclone induced rain will damage all our vegetables in the field which will again increase the loan burden on farmers. Source - https://www.orissapost.com