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Kendrapara: A fodder grass farm spread over ten acres in Barimula GP under Derabish block of the district has now turned into a forest land. Local residents allege that due to lack of maintenance and laid-back attitude of the concerned authorities, the farm is languishing in neglect.
According to sources, the farm was set up by the State government in 1945 with an aim to cater to the fodder needs of marginal farmers residing in and around Kendrapara. However, it's been around eight years, the cultivation in the farm has come to a dead end.
As a result, farm equipment are lying defunct due to lack of preservation and the office rooms also need urgent attention. Moreover, in absence of a boundary wall at one side of the farm and proper upkeep, the farm has now become breeding ground for anti-social elements.
While an attendant of the farm alleged that the staff engaged in the project remains out of bounds from the office most of the time, Dilip Patra, a local resident said, "Grass farming has been stopped since the last eight years which has led to the growth of wilds on the land. Different types of grasses were cultivated here earlier and I also used to take it for my cattle. But the project is now pieces of shattered dreams."
The attendant of the fodder farm, Madhu Charan Patra claimed that once the farm used to produce around two quintals of different varieties of grasses for supply to the farmers on a daily basis but now the officials are also not taking any steps to resume agriculture in the space."
An official in charge of the farm, Bijay Kumar Dash accepted the allegations on the state of neglect of the farm but expressed his helplessness over the matter.
"We have apprised the concerned authorities about the dilapidated condition of the farm but no measures have been taken in this regard," he said.
Additional Veterinary Officer, Suresh Chandra Mishra blamed absence of the boundary wall on side of the farm as the reason behind halting of the cultivation in the farm.
"We have submitted an estimate to the higher-ups for the construction of the boundary wall but no approval has come yet," informed Mishra.
When asked to explain the situation, Kendrapara district Collector Samarth Verma said, "I will discuss the reason behind the failure to resume cultivation in the fodder farm with the concerned veterinary officer and try to address the issues soon," assured Verma.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
https://youtu.be/xoXHbhg1VvY
