Incessant rainfall has severely impacted agricultural activities across the district. Affected farmers report that the heavy downpour has caused extensive damage, with large volumes of rainwater remaining stagnant across vast stretches of farmland.
Tapan Kumar Pal from Nalikul and Kashinath Ghosh from Arambagh stated that oilseed crops such as sesame and groundnut have been completely destroyed. Waterlogging has rotted the roots of these crops, wiping out the expected yield. Additionally, part of the recently harvested produce, which was kept on the farms, has also been ruined. The paddy seeds sown for preparing saplings have been washed away by rainwater.
Mukta Das from Pandua, and Mantu Mondal and Rabindranath Mukherjee from Arambagh, said that their farm has been inundated. They were expecting a profitable harvest of green vegetables, but the unfavourable weather conditions have rendered that impossible. Crops such as bitter gourd, lady’s fingers, brinjal, ridge gourd, pointed gourd, bottle gourd and other creeper vegetables have been severely affected and most have perished.
The distressed farmers said they are already burdened with loans and the loss of oilseed crops and vegetables has pushed them further into debt. They have urged the district agricultural department to conduct spot assessments of the damage and to provide them with appropriate compensation.