Kendrapara: Farmers from various parts of the district hit the streets on Sunday after unseasonal rain triggered extensive damage to standing paddy crops.

The aggrieved farmers, seeking assessment of the loss and payment of compensation, blocked roads in several areas.

They blocked traffic on the Kendrapara-Gandakia Road and also disrupted vehicular movement at Shayamsundarpur Chowk on the Paradip-Daitary Expressway.

"The agitation was peaceful. On being told that the crop loss would be compensated in accordance with rules, they withdrew the stir," said sub-divisional police officer Rajib Lochan Panda.

"The agriculture fields are still inundated as rainwater is yet to recede in most of the that were hit by rain. A joint team of revenue, tehsil and agriculture department officials has been constituted for field assessment. It would help ascertain the extent of damage," said Kendrapara collector Dasarathy Satpathy.

"Paddy fields in Kansra, Ostapur, Purusottampur, Ayaba, Shyamsundapur, Bagada, Kalapada and Tunupur villages on the outskirts of the township are all under water. Though it stopped raining on Saturday; the fields continue to remain waterlogged. It could take two more days for the crop fields to dry up," said a district administration official.

The official said farmers who had suffered crop loss of 33 per cent or above were entitled to agricultural input subsidy according to norms of the State Disaster Response Fund.

"The saplings would die if the water did not recede by Monday. I had cultivated paddy on about an acre. I am destined to suffer major loss," said Guru Charan Sethy, a paddy farmer from Alijanga village.