Low pressure-induced rain has damaged paddy crops in the coastal Kendrapara district. Crop loss is being reported from villages of Aul, Mahakalapada, Rajnagar, Marsaghai and Garadapur blocks of the district. Heavy rain lashed the district damaging autumn paddy crops and seasonal vegetables. Gayadhar Dhal,  the secretary of Kendrapara district Krusaka Sabha, has demanded survey of the damage caused to the crops by rain and appropriate compensation for affected farmers. “We have lost harvested paddy. Many of us had taken loans to grow autumn paddy,”said Ashok Jena,  a farmer of  Pattamundai. Farmers are apprehensive that quality of paddy will deteriorate due to rain and this will not fetch them the minimum support price (MSP). Contacted, Prafulla Chandra Mishra, the  Deputy Director of Agriculture, Kendrapara, said farmers of the district had raised autumn paddy in over 12,350 hectares of land this year.  “We had earlier asked the farmers to shift their ripe paddy crops to their homes, but many did not do so. They kept the harvested paddy in their agricultural lands and threshing areas and the stocks were damaged as they were not covered with polythene sheets,”he said. Source - http://www.newindianexpress.com