PONDA: The farmers of Tivre- Vargao Panchayat in Priol Constituency are eager to cultivate and revive the fallow paddy fields but they seek government intervention to resolve various challenges hindering their efforts. Chief among their concerns are the lack of access roads and ramps for agricultural machinery and the need to mitigate the bison menace.
The farmers lamented that for the past decade, they could not cultivate their paddy fields due to various problems and also due to the choked nullah filled with silt for several years.
Around 200 farmers desire to revive their traditional occupation, but except for a few, many could not cultivate paddy due to these problems. Today, most of them are willing to cultivate their fallow fields as the nullah has been desilted by the Water Resources Department. Deputy Sarpanch Sumitra Naik highlighted the recent cleaning of the nullah flowing from Shantadurga Temple to Tivrem-Patto by the government. Despite this progress, farmers remain wary of the increasing presence of wild bisons in their locality, fearing potential damage to their crops.