N’PADA VILLAGERS DIG FARM PONDS, BOOST INCOME

-
Chhatar Majhi and Ujal Majhi are two marginal farmers of Kusumkhunta village in Boden block. Chhatar has a family of six members and Ujal has five. Both work hard in their lands to earn their livelihood. Like all other poor farmers of Nuapada district, they also depend upon wage work for a living.

A year back, income of these two families was too low from their monsoon dependent agriculture. Chhatar and Ujal, along with other eight farmers of the village, were selected by the Palli Sabha to get support under MGNREGS to dig farm ponds under Mo Pokhari Yojana in their land. The sanctioned amount was Rs 20,000 each. After deduction of the material costs and collateral expenses, each got about Rs 14,000 to Rs 15,000.

Chhatar dug a pond in four decimals of land. He made a fence around a 66 decimals plot adjoining to the farm pond and started cultivating vegetables. He cultivated onion in 45 decimals, tomato in 10 decimals and ladies finger, sunflower and some other local vegetables on the embankment of the pond. Getting irrigation from the pond, the vegetable grew well. The total income from the plot was more than Rs 15,000
this year.

“My Andhra is here – in this plot of land, why should I migrate to that far away place,” boasts of an elated Chhatar. Both Chhatar and Ujal have dug the ponds utilizing their family labour. Ujal now irrigates 50 decimals with the help of the pond. He also cultivates onion in a larger patch and a variety of crops, including sugarcane in the rest land. On the embankment, he cultivated Arhar. He also earned about Rs 14,000 this year.

There are eight more farmers in Kusumkhunta, who have also done very good works. They have completed construction of their ponds. The water level is very good sufficient to irrigate at least half to one acre each. More investment in the construction will certainly increase the coverage of irrigation. “We have requested the Executive Officer of the Panchayat to enhance the sanctioned amount to help us expand the storage area. However, it depends upon the BDO and the PD, DRDA,” says Ujjal. Notably, Boden Gram Panchayat was awarded the best panchayat in the State in 2011-12 for better utilization of funds. The panchayat was given a cheque of Rs 10 lakh and a certificate in a function held at Delhi by the Union Minister for Rural Development. The effort of the Panchayat in Kusumkhunta village is praiseworthy. More than 5,000 farm ponds have been constructed in Nuapada since the inception of the MGNREGS.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NBWS ISSUED AGAINST 3 N’PADA FOREST STAFF

-
NBWS ISSUED AGAINST 3 N’PADA FOREST STAFF Sunday, 10 May 2015 | AJIT PANDA | NUAPADA | in  Bhubaneswar The Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Khariar issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against three officials of Forest (Territorial) Division of Khariar. The NBWs were issued against DFO Sarat Chandra Panda, ACF Nityanand Naik and Forester Surendra Barik for deliberately defying summons of the JMFC for appearance in the court. The police are yet to arrest the officials, as they are absconding. The incident which led to such an unprecedented situation is peculiar. The DFO had issued an order for digging of a trench on the boundary line of forest land located near the JMFC court. The work resulted in the damage of a footpath and the water supply system leading to the court premises. Expressing discontent, the advocates of Khariar Bar Association requested the Forest Department to stop the work. However, the DFO instead of listening to them, justified his work stat...
Read more

Odisha’s Nuapada a snapshot of how COVID-19 is affecting rural India

-
Image
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/health/odisha-s-nuapada-a-snapshot-of-how-covid-19-is-affecting-rural-india-76689 Odisha’s Nuapada a snapshot of how COVID-19 is affecting rural India Nuapada distrct experiences lack of oxygen, callous staff, a swelling number of infection cases and deaths and an administration in denial as COVID-19 wreaks havoc  By  Ajit Panda Published: Monday 26 April 2021  A person being tested for COVID-19 at the Khariar Road Railway Station in Odisha's Nuapada district. Photo: Twitter Handle of the Collector and District Magistrate of Nuapada The worst fears of experts regarding rural India during the first wave of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) last year are coming true. Nuapada, a district of Odisha bordering Chhattisgarh, offers a snapshot of the havoc that the pandemic is wreaking, now that it has reached these areas. Lack of oxygen, callous staff, the swelling number of infection cases and deaths and an administration in denial is ...
Read more

Dalits avenge discrimination by upper caste

-
  Dalits avenge discrimination by upper caste Sunday, 24 April 2022  |  AJIT PANDA  | NUAPADA https://www.dailypioneer.com/2022/state-editions/dalits-avenge-discrimination-by-upper-caste.html Despite strict laws and social reforms, there seems to be no end to caste discrimination. In an incident reported from Jamgaon village under the Boden police limits of Nuapada district, dalits of the village have allegedly been prevented from carrying the ceremonial vases filled with water and paddy in a Kalas Yatra held during celebration of the Ram Navami on April 10.  According to dalits, the village as a whole decided to celebrate the Ram Navami with participation of people of all communities, including dalits. All dalit families contributed financially equally as decided in a village meeting. "But when the decision about organising the Kalas Yatra was made, they said dalit women would not be allowed to carry Kalas because the water and paddy would be impure “It was qui...
Read more