Govt works on contingency plan for affected farmers

Kolkata: The state government is working on a contingency plan for farmers after the agriculture department submitted a report to chief minister Mamata Banerjee mentioning that nearly 9.15 lakh hectares of land spread over six districts have been affected by Cyclone Bulbul. According to the report, cultivation of paddy (aman), potato, vegetables, pulses, mustard, flower and betel leaves have been hit following the storm accompanied by incessant rain for the last two days.

“The extent of damage is high and the chief minister is personally going to the cyclone-affected areas. Our department will work according to her instructions,” state agriculture minister Ashis Banerjee told TOI.

According to the report, nearly 9.15 lakh hectares of agricultural land spread mostly over South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly have been affected by the storm and rain. “The most damage has been done to paddy fields. Nearly 8.35 lakh hectares of paddy fields have been affected. This land is spread mainly in South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore,” a senior official of the agriculture department said.

Apart from that, 50,000 hectares of vegetable-growing land in North 24 Parganas and Hooghly, 11,000 hectares of mustard-growing field, 600 hectares of pulses and 400 hectares of potato fields have been damaged.

Last year, Bengal produced 1.1 crore tonnes of potato and 1.6 crore tonnes of aman rice. Farmers say that the production may be reduced this year.