Assam Government help sought to tide over crop failure

A CORRESPONDENT

DOOMDOOMA: Due to the prevailing draught-like situation arising out of the dry spell in Kakapathar area of Tinsukia district, the peasants who are usually engaged in the paddy field in the month of Aghon (mid- November to mid-December) to cut and gather crops are heaving deep sigh this year due to crop failure.

As there is no irrigation system in the Dirak paddy field of Kakapathar under Kakapathar Development Block in Sadiya Legislative Assembly Constituency, the peasants are solely dependent on monsoon. The farmers did replant paddy seedlings this year also. But due to lack of rain the paddy crops did not sprout properly. As a result spadix of a paddy did not come out. So now in a cluster there is an admixture of paddy and seedless paddy.

The usual yield of 25 to 30 maunds of paddy that a cultivator gets per bigha of land has now come down to roughly around one maund, they lamented. The reaper girls and women are, therefore, sitting idle as they have no work at hand. As they are left with no other alternative, so they have allowed their cattle to graze freely in the wasted paddy field to eat the seedless pady as animal food.

According to reports, some of the peasants did have agricultural insurance in HDFC bank in apprehension of unfavorable weather conditions. But the bank allegedly refused to give payments now for reasons best known to them. So the cultivators appealed to Government for extending help to them for crop failure this year for their survival in this COVID-19 pandemic.

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