BHAWANIPATAN: Their hopes to earn profits from the crops this festive season have fallen flat. Pest attacks in menacing proportions have left thousands of farmers of Kalahandi shocked. With the paddy crops in irrigated pockets in advanced stage and all set to be harvested next month, farmers apprehend largescale damage and losses. According to official reports, about 44,000 hectares of paddy crop has been affected of which 28,000 ha is under Indravati irrigated pocket under Dharamgarh subdivision. The worst affected blocks are Junagarh, Jaipatna, Kalampur, Dharamgarh and Koksara blocks. The paddy crops have been hit by bacteria leaf blight (BLB), blast, sheeth blight and sheeth rot and the pests causing menace are stem borrower, goll ming, BPH (brown plant hopper) and Gundhee. Even as the farmers are struggling to keep their crops alive, the pests combating mechanism of Agriculture Department has failed to respond effectively to the calamity. Farmers alleged that the required medicines and pesticides at subsidised rates are not available in the Agriculture Department sale centers. This despite the introduction of epest surveillance in the three agriculture districts of Bhawanipatna, Dharamgarh and Narla. Officials rarely visit the effected fields on the plea of shortage of staff. Even under financial crisis, the farmers are forced to purchase medicines and pesticides on their own from open market paying exorbitant price with no government subsidy and advice from experts. Recently, farmers from Gambhariguda, Moter and Dhaner villages under Junagarh block submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Director of Agriculture here demanding visit by the agriculture officials to the affected villages and render necessary assistance to combat the pest menace, but the pleas have failed to elicit any response as yet. Farmers' leader Anil Nanda alleged that the Agriculture Department field staff rarely visit the affected fields of farmers and ironically the e-pest surveillance work in the district is non functional. He told that when most of the non irrigated areas of the State and district have been drought-affected due to scanty and erratic rainfall, it should be the priority of the Government to see that paddy in irrigated fields survives. Alleged lack of sincerity on the part of the officials concerned has left the farmers deprived of any technical guidance at this critical hour, he said.