Ahu paddy getting dry in Dhakuakhana subdivision, affected farmers seek help

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: At a time when farmers, agricultural workers – waged and self-employed, facing poverty and suffer from lack of safety and labour protection due to the adverse effects of COVID-19 and lockdown situation, the farmers of Dhakuakhana subdivision under Lakhimpur district are facing a burning problem which has posed threat to the good harvest of their Ahu paddy.

Due to unknown reasons, the Ahu paddy plants covering a large crop area under the subdivision are getting dry before they are reaped. As a result of the phenomenon, the affected farmers have to see their paddy plants getting dry before their eyes, which were the outcome of their rigorous labour. Reportedly, the Ahu paddy fields under Amud Borbari, Bhet-Toli, Batsora Mukh, Lahoal villages under Mornoi Gaon Panchayat of the subdivision are badly affected by the phenomenon.

Receiving the information, Goutam Chandra Deka, the Subdivisional Agriculture Officer (SDAO), visited the affected paddy fields on Tuesday along with Priyadeep Pegu, the Agriculture Development Officer. Both officers interacted with the affected farmers and took stock of the situation. While interacting with the officers, the affected farmers asked for the help of the Agriculture Department for substitute cultivation in order to cope with their loss. The officers gave word to the farmers to supply seedlings of high-yielding varieties of paddy like Ranjit Sub-1, Bahadur. They also extended suggestions to the farmers on how to control the phenomenon of paddy plants getting dry and on judicious use of chemical fertilizers.

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