LED street lights are reportedly adversely affecting germination of paddy, triggering widespread resentment among farmers in Attabira of Bargarh district. Attabira is one of the main regions in the State where agricultural activities play a pivotal role in the economy.
As per sources, apart from affecting the germination of seeds, LED street lights also hurt the growth of the crops. There is growing demand to find an alternative and replace the LED street lights.
Under the government scheme, LED lights are installed in every municipalities and NACs to light up the streets. However, street lights are reportedly affecting crops on the roadside farmlands.
It was found that within the focal length of these streetlights, crops were unable to grow properly. While the size of the paddy plant used to be five to ten inches, now it reduced to two to three inches.
As per sources, the LED lights give an open invitation to pests like locust and in order to get rid of them and protect the crops, the farmers are covering up the light bulbs with gunny bags.
Similar incidents were also reported in some places of Keonjhar and Jaleswar.