Divine intervention: An idol of Bajrangbali in a paddy field. Picture by Ashutosh Kumar

Bhagalpur/ Banka, Nov. 21: For the good harvest of Katarni rice this year, farmers here are thankful to the Almighty, not to the government.

Paddy cultivators in major parts of Bihar were concerned about the prospects of the harvest because of the drought that damaged the paddy. Campaigning for the Assembly elections in this region saw politicians making a slew of promises on drought-related issues.

Ultimately, rainfall around mid-October helped farmers reap a good harvest following the initial drought scare.

Vipin Kumar, a resident of Bhagalpur, said: “Katarni is a status symbol in the anga pradesh (eastern parts of Bihar). We consider ourselves privileged to be able to serve our guests with this high quality rice. Moreover, our relatives staying outside always ask for this variety when they come here.”

While showing his growing paddy plants across five bighas of plot at Amarpur, Basant Thakur, a paddy farmer, said: “We used to feel happy when leaders brought up drought-related issues. Unfortunately, not a single political party was actually interested in our problems. They utilised the issue as a poll gimmick.” The farmers hoped that the paddy cultivation would be good this season.

“Drought and famine are some of the common words in the politicians’ dictionary. They use them just to woo voters,” Baldeo Prasad, a farmer in Purnea, said.

Anwar Husain, a farmer in Jagdishpur, said: “Farmers this time were hoping to yield seven to nine quintals of Katarni, 11-14 quintals of Sarna, 10-12 quintals of Parimal and Lal-Sita paddy of about eight to 10 quintals per bigha in this region.”

“Drought has become regular here and there are no irrigation facilities. However, the paddy crop harvest was good this year,” said Dipak Kumar, another farmer. He said Katarni paddy fields, which are mostly located beside Chanan river, must get better irrigation facilities. “Rainfall during Hathiya Nakshatra (in mid-October) saved the paddy here,” Kumar added.

Farmers here blame politicians for taking no steps to improve irrigation facilities for the paddy fields in this region. “The irrigation channels coming out from Chanan river helped farming. But with deposits piling up on the Chanan riverbed, the channels have been blocked. In the past three decades, no government has taken any step whatsoever to dredge the silt from the riverbed,” Ramesh Chandra Pandey, a farmer in Khiribanh said.

Many paddy farmers blamed the government for its failure to provide seeds and fertilisers at subsidised rates. “We had to purchase seeds at Rs 60-80 per kg, while fertilisers at Rs 400-550 per packet,” Akram, a farmer from Rajoun, said.

“Farmers who do not have the capacity to purchase costly seeds opted for Sarna or Lal Sita rice, the seeds of which are available at comparatively cheaper rates,” Budhan Ravidas, another farmer in Banka said.

Binod Yadav, a farmer pointing at a Bajrangbali idol installed in the paddy filed at Nabrai Chandrapura village in Banka said: “The government did not help us. It is god who came to our aid. We thank him for the good harvest this season.”

Any outsider visiting the stretch between Jagdishpur (Bhagalpur) and Amarpur (Banka) via Rajoun, prefer to have Katarni. Even when a farmer from the region invites a guest, he prefers serving Katarni.