Untimely rain hits paddy harvest in South Dinajpur

BALURGHAT: Untimely rains since Wednesday in South Dinajpur have added to the worries of farmers as their paddy is ready for harvesting. The untimely rains have caused water logging in many low-lying areas besides inundating the paddy fields in the district.

According to the farmers, the process of paddy harvesting slowed down as fields were wet due to rains and made it difficult for heavy combine harvesters to enter paddy fields.

Binay Sarkar, a farmer from the Balurghat block, said: “I had planned to harvest on Thursday but as it has been raining since Wednesday, I have to wait for the field to dry. If there is heavy rain at this point, the crops will be damaged.”

Farmers are worried as meteorologists have predicted more rain in the area in the next 12 hours. Many say it will flatten the crop causing yield loss and discolouring of the grain.

“It will be difficult for us to sell our crops if the colour of the crops is discoloured and we will have to sell at prices lower than the minimum support price as fixed by the state,” lamented Amit Barman, another farmer of the same block.

He also said that the farmers had to face losses due to the loss of crops due to rains and floods that hit the region just before the Durga Puja.

Rain has also created problems for vegetable growers as excess soil moisture will damage newly sprouted seedlings. The agriculture department has also advised farmers to drain excess water standing in the fields. Officials of the agriculture department said that the fields will dry in the sun in the coming days and there will be no damage to the crops..