DIBRUGARH: The farmers in Dibrugarh, Assam are in distress as they are in dire need of pesticides, bio-fertilizers, and other chemicals for their crops. Ironically, a large number of bags containing these essential supplies are lying in an open godown at the Dibrugarh agriculture office.
Most of these bags containing pesticides and bio-fertilizers were supplied by the government and were intended to be distributed to needy farmers. However, due to negligence, a significant portion of these bags got damaged by rain.
In a peculiar turn of events, the bio-fertilizer bags, which are crucial for enhancing crop yields, were also stored haphazardly in an open area, resulting in damage to some of the bags caused by rain.
Sources reveal that the agriculture office lacks a proper storage facility, forcing them to keep the bio-fertilizer bags in an open area. Despite knowing the vulnerability of these bags to rain and rodents, the department failed to take adequate measures to protect them.
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“Our department does not have a dedicated godown, which is why we had to store the bio-fertilizer bags in an open area. However, the allotments have been made, and the bags will soon be moved to the designated areas. Unfortunately, some bags got damaged due to rain, and rodents also caused damage to the bio-fertilizer bags,” explained an officer from the Dibrugarh Agriculture office.
He added, “The majority of the bags stored here contain Zinc Soluble Bacteria (ZSB), Dolomite, and other bio-fertilizers. The allotments have already been made, and the bio-fertilizer bags will be transferred to the Joypur sub-division.”
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Muktamoni Hazarika, a farmer, expressed her frustration, saying, “We haven’t received anything from the District Agriculture Department. Despite cultivating 30 bighas of land, we have not received any support from the department. We had to purchase bio-fertilizers using our own savings.”
She further questioned, “Has the District Agriculture Department conducted any survey to assess the needs of farmers during the crop cultivation process?”