Odisha farmers to request PM to merge their villages in Chhattisgarh!

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Jharsuguda, Feb 13:

Even though the Odisha Government continues to win ‘Krishi Karman Award’ year after another and loves to flaunt them, the fact remains that the condition of agriculture and farmers continue to be pathetic in the state.

If a massive drought and large scale farmer suicide was not proof enough of the inefficiency; farmers of 19 bordering villages have decided to plead the Prime Minister to merge their villages in Chhattisgarh, if basic facilities such as irrigation are not provided to them.

The farmers of 19 villages under Lakhanpur block of Jharsuguda district today took the call on this context to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister during his upcoming visit to western Odisha town of Bargarh on February 21 for a mega farmers’ meet.

“Infrastructure is critically amiss here. We have been running here and there for every minor thing without much luck. We have seen Chhattisgarh Government do much more for its people. This is the reason we decided to approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to merge our villages in Chhattisgarh, should Odisha Government continue to brush aside our demands,” said Janardan Panda – a leader of the farmers, after a meeting in Kandehikala village.

The Jharsuguda district administration, however, promised that necessary steps would be taken to address their concerns.

“Lack of proper irrigation facility is the main concern of these farmers. We are already constructing five mega lift irrigation projects in the district at cost of Rs 100 crore. Out of these five, two would be in their vicinity – in the Lakhanpur block. It should be sufficient to irrigate their land,” said Jharsuguda Collector Parameswaran B.