BALASORE: The floods in major rivers in the district has wreaked havoc on agriculture. With large parts of agriculture land and standing crops washed away or inundated, farmers are staring at huge loses and worried about repayment of their loans.
Distressed farmers who have lost their standing crops to the floods have urged the Government to waive off their loans.
They said the relief provided by the district administration will hardly last for a week and then they will be left to fend for themselves.
Meanwhile, the water level of Subarnarekha is rising at Rajghat near Jaleswar as a result of which the low-lying areas of Baliapal and Bhograi have been affected.
As many as six villages in both the blocks remain inundated. Residents of Bishnupur panchayat in Baliapal now need to travel an additional six km via Jamkunda Chowk to reach the nearest town as flood water has submerged a culvert near the bus stand.
The water level of Subarnarekha river was 10.84 metre against the danger mark of 10.36 metre. Similarly, Jalaka river is flowing at 6.60 metre, much above its danger mark of 5.50 metre. However, Budhabalanga river is flowing at 7.68 metre against the danger mark of 8.13 metre.
District emergency officer Rizwana Kawkab said before the rivers crossed their danger mark, the district administration on Friday evacuated around 1,045 people in Baliapal and Bhograi blocks.
While a team of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) has been stationed at Balasore Sadar, another has been posted at Remuna to tackle any eventuality.
A team of NDRF has been posted at Baliapal to rescue and evacuate more people if necessary.
Even as no casualty was reported on the day, a 54-year-old man, Banudhar Maharana of Haatasahi village in Baunsabania panchayat was critically injured after the wall of his thatched house fell on him while he was sleeping with his son on Thursday afternoon.
He is undergoing treatment at Nilagiri hospital.