ROURKELA: Agricultural activities have resumed in Sundargarh after heavy rains lashed the district in the last few days. For some blocks in the district, it is a case of plenty as they received more than the normal rainfall of 393.8 mm. Official sources said in the three weeks of August, the Lathikata block received the highest rainfall at 398 mm while Subdega block got 358 mm. Moreover, Lahunipara, Balishankara, Sundargarh Sadar and Tangarpali blocks received over 300 mm of rainfall, while Hemgir, Lefripara, Rajgangpur, Kuanrmunda, Nuagaon, Bisra, Bonai and Koida blocks got between 242 mm and 282 mm. Monsoon in the district was initially normal but in July it got deficient by 23 per cent creating a drought-like situation. At one point, the worried Sundargarh district administration held emergency meeting to make defunct lift-irrigation points functional as second phase of paddy farming activities had come to a halt. Agriculture experts viewed that good shower is necessary for growth of the water- starved paddy plants. Of the total 3.13 lakh hectares (ha) of land, paddy cultivation has been taken up on 2.15 lakh ha while the rest of the farmlands have been cultivated for non-paddy crops. While paddy broadcasting is done on 1.26 lakh ha, transplantation of paddy occupies nearly 89,000 ha. A marginal farmer of Lathikata block Suresh Topno is upbeat with the good shower as he is busy doing second phase of farm operation. Although excess rainfall may mar the yield prospects of non-paddy crops like pulses, oilseeds and vegetables, there has been no report of water-logging in farmlands bearing non-paddy plants.
Comments
0 comment