Kendrapada: The recent flood has caused extensive damage to standing paddy crops in the worst-hit Rajkanika, Aul, Pattamundai and Rajnagar blocks of Kendrapada district and Dasarathpur, Bari, Binjharpur, Barachana and Rasulpur blocks of Jajpur district, leaving thousands of farmers worried about their livelihood and repayment of bank loans.Complaints of crop damage have been pouring in from several flood-hit villages. “We have lost the paddy saplings. You can see that all the crops are destroyed now. We are also worried about how we will repay our bank loans,” said Devdas Jena, a paddy farmer of Duttapur village under Dasarathpur block.Apart from paddy, the flood has severely damaged large tracts of green gram, black gram and vegetable crops across the two districts. Farmers said they suffer crop losses almost every year due to floods, inadequate and unseasonal rain but alleged that the authorities have failed to provide a lasting solution.Bhagabat Rout, a farmer of Malikapur village under Dasarathpur block, said he had raised paddy saplings on three acres of land last month, but the floodwater destroyed the entire crop. Many other farmers in the area have suffered similar losses. Even three weeks after the flood, large tracts of agricultural land remain submerged under knee-deep water. Farmers said most of them have not insured their crops and fear they may not receive adequate compensation for the losses.“I was shocked after seeing my agricultural field. I had raised paddy on four acres of land two months ago and hoped to harvest it in Nov. But the floodwater damaged all the paddy saplings,” said Arjun Das of Gobindapur village under Aul block. The flood has also damaged vegetable crops, leading to a rise in vegetable prices.Large areas under radish, ladies’ finger, beans, brinjal, parwal, pointed gourd, wild snake gourd and other seasonal vegetables have been affected. “It is a difficult time for the farmers. The impact of the crop losses will be felt on their economy, and they will find it difficult to recover from the setback. The flood has not only affected foodgrain crops but also vegetables, making essential commodities more expensive,” said Sipra Mallick, a senior Congress leader and former MLA of Kendrapada.Contacted, Kendrapada collector Raghuram R. Iyer said the authorities had directed chief district agriculture officer to assess crop losses by inspecting the flood-hit areas. “The authorities will provide compensation and other assistance to affected farmers after receiving the report,” he said.Farmers also attributed recurring crop losses to the lack of flood-tolerant paddy varieties. They said that three decades ago, many farmers used traditional flood-tolerant paddy seeds, which helped protect crops from floodwater. However, most farmers now depend on seeds supplied by the agriculture department, leaving them vulnerable during floods, said Bijaya Parida, a farmers’ leader of Kendrapada.