Bettiah: Falling water levels in the Gandak river have failed to bring relief to farmers in the low-lying and diara areas of West Champaran, where continuous riverbank erosion is destroying hundreds of acres of sugar cane in Chiurahi panchayat under Bagaha subdivision.With the sugarcane crop still months away from its normal harvesting season, farmers are being forced to reap whatever remains in their fields. The prematurely harvested cane is being transported to jaggery-making units and crushers in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, often at distress prices. Farmers said they were taking the step only to recover at least a portion of the money invested in cultivation.Sugar cane is the principal cash crop in the diara belt and a major source of livelihood for local farming families. Normally, the crop is harvested in Nov and Dec and supplied to sugar mills. The income from sugar cane helps families meet important expenses, including marriages, children’s education, medical treatment and other household needs.This year, however, continuous erosion has severely disrupted the farming cycle. Large stretches of agricultural land are being swallowed by the Gandak, while the surviving crop is being harvested before reaching maturity. Farmers fear that premature harvesting and distress sales will result in substantially lower returns than they would have received from mature cane supplied to sugar mills.Farmers said the falling water level were accompanied by intensified erosion at several locations, adding to the difficulties of those who had borrowed money to cultivate their fields. Instead of waiting until Nov, many are now cutting their crop in Sept and taking it across the Uttar Pradesh border to crushers in an attempt to recover whatever they can from their investment.Farmer Dhurendra Prasad said the erosion had destroyed the fruits of their hard work. “The sugar cane still needed time to mature, but the river is continuously eroding our fields. We are being forced to harvest the remaining crop prematurely and sell it. As a result, farmers are not getting the price they would normally expect.”Elderly farmer Zafaruddin Ansari said the survival of families in the diara region depended heavily on sugar cane cultivation.“The lives of farmers in the diara region depend on sugar cane cultivation. Families rely on the income from this crop throughout the year. With both farmland and crops being destroyed by erosion, farmers are facing a serious livelihood crisis. The govt should immediately assess the losses and provide compensation.”Chiurahi panchayat mukhiya Vijay Yadav said sugar cane was cultivated on a large scale in the diara region and was the main source of livelihood for farmers there. With the river swallowing farmland and farmers being forced to harvest their crop prematurely, they were suffering substantial financial losses.District magistrate Taranjot Singh and sub-divisional magistrate Chandni Kumari inspected the erosion-hit areas and assured affected residents that arrangements for displacement and rehabilitation would be made within a week.Farmers, however, said rehabilitation alone would not address their losses. They urged the administration to immediately assess the damage to sugar cane crops and provide compensation for agricultural losses.
