Weather

Paddy cultivation in Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia and both districts of bardhaman is in a dire state due to the attack of insects. There is a fear that paddy on several thousand hectares of land will be damaged. Paddy farmers in the area are losing sleep at night due to worry. It is known that this time the monsoon arrived at the right time, so the farmers planted the Paddy at the right time. But as soon as the plants grew a little, the Paddy cultivation fell victim to the whims and wrath of nature.

 

Farmers of Bankura, Purulia and both districts of bardhaman and Birbhum's Ilambazar, Dubrajpur, Bolpur, and Nanur blocks are facing a dire situation due to the attack of insects one after another. Paddy plants are drying up in the field before it ripens due to the attack of insects like Shyama, Khola Rocha, Majra, and Shoshok. Farmers are not getting results despite using various pesticides. Hectares after hectares of Paddy crops are being destroyed. 

 

These insects mainly suck the sap of Paddy plants, causing the plants to wither and the yield to drop drastically. Insect infestation increases during rainy, warm and humid weather. In that case, due to the low pressure at the end of the monsoon, several districts of South Bengal as well as Birbhum received heavy rainfall. Along with this, the warm and humid weather created a suitable environment for the insect attack.

 

Farmers in the area reports that, as soon as they step into the field, they see insects swarming around the roots of the Paddy plants. The land that looks green today, the next day the Paddy is seen to be dry. They fear that they will not even be able to get any straw from paddy. In this situation, farmers are not sure how to harvest the Paddy and take it to the farm. They fear that if this continues, they will not even be able to meet the minimum cost per hectares of land. Meanwhile, most of the farmers have taken loans to cultivate. The paddy farmers in the area are at a loss. At they even don't how they will repay their loans. The farmers in the area have demanded government assistance and loan waiver to save themselves from losses.