Cyclone Dana causes extensive damage to paddy crops, vegetable cultivation; several areas inundated in Bhadrak

Farmers are in distress in Basudevpur area under Bhadrak district as heavy rain and gusty wind triggered by Cyclone Dana have severely affected the paddy crops and vegetable cultivation in the area.

Apart from the damages to the houses and power infrastructure due to the uprooting of trees, several acres of farmlands have been waterlogged causing damage to the cultivation.

Farmers in the area are crestfallen over the development as their livelihood is at stake now. They have become helpless on how to make their ends meet and repay their loans.

“Cyclone Dana has triggered severe damage to our paddy crops and vegetable cultivation. We are now clueless on how to make our living and repay our loans,” rued a farmer in the area.

Moreover, as many as five panchayats under Tihidi block in the district- Boro, Bilana, Bodak, Kanpada and Tala Gopabindha have been inundated due to the widespread rainfall triggered by the severe cyclonic storm.

While many houses have been damaged in the gusty wind, several places in the area and farmlands have been waterlogged in knee-deep water. Residents in the area have been stranded amid waterlogging. They have demanded that the water in the area should be drained immediately.

“The water level has been increasing since morning. All the roads have been submerged and residents in our area have been alienated from the mainland. Residents are not able to come out of their houses. People are facing severe problems as they don’t have any food and drinking water facilities. We request the administration to make necessary arrangements for the people,” said a local resident.

“Water has now started entering into our houses. If the situation continues like this, our walls will collapse. We are helpless now,” said another resident in the area.