It’s a race against time for farmers to save their produce with possible rain-induced damage staring at them. As the meteorological department has predicted heavy rains coupled with squally winds in the next two to three days, croplands are abuzz with hectic paddy harvesting activities.

However, the shortage of skilled manpower has hindered speedy harvesting work. To aggravate things further, the harvester machines are turned ineffective to venture into the muddy crop fields. The machines which could hasten the reaping and harvesting process are getting stuck in crop areas that are mud-spattered due to recent unseasonal rain.

“The harvested paddy should be shifted to safe places and should be kept properly stacked under adequate cover to avoid any loss or damage due to the likely rain. If the paddy crops are ready for harvest, steps may be taken to harvest the same”, the Special Relief Commissioner in an advisory issued on Monday said.

With the authorities asking the farmers to shift their harvested paddy from the fields to safe places to avoid loss or damage, farmers are in no mood to take calculated risk in leaving the paddy to bear the brunt of heavy downpour.

“We have stepped up the process of harvesting paddy on a war footing. We have already suffered a lot due to crop loss caused by unseasonal rains last month. This time, we are extra-cautious to save the yield at any cost”, said a farmer from the Bramhagiri area in Puri district, Raghab Parida.

We have completed the process of cutting ripe crops. Since yesterday, we have been engaged in harvesting it. My family comprises six members. All of us are on the harvesting job. My eldest son who is doing a job in Paradip has taken a break from his work three days back to lend us support in harvesting. The rain may lash anytime in the next 72 hours. We hope to complete the process before the downpour. A diesel generator set has been hired as the harvesting will go on till the midnight hours, said Keshab Rout, a farmer from the Ramnagar area in Kendrapara district.

The panchayat bodies and block-level officials have been directed to extend storage facilities to farmers for their harvested paddy. The administration had also requested the farmers to reap and harvest the paddy before the onset of low-pressure rain, said Sangram Kumar Mahapatra, Collector, Khurda district.