Package for drought hit farmers after 31 Aug

Even as several districts in the state are in the grip of drought, the Orissa government has decided to wait till August 31 before officially declaring some areas as drought-hit and announcing special package for the affected farmers.

S N Patra, state minister for revenue & disaster management said, “The collectors of all districts will be giving their detailed reports by August 31. Only after that, we can take a decision on whether to declare some areas or districts as drought hit. Its true that some areas in the districts of Nayagarh, Kalahandi, Boudh, Nayagarh and Ganjam have been severely affected but we cannot got for declaration of drought or announce any package for the drought hit farmers before we receive the reports from the district collectors.”

The state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today reviewed the drought situation in the state.

Meanwhile as the state government is buying time and adopting a 'wait and watch' approach to officially declare some affected regions as 'drought-hit', the Opposition Congress today stepped on the heat on the ruling BJD government, urging it to immediately declare the affected areas as drought-hit.

Senior Congress leader and head of the party's drought committee Nrusingh Mishra said six districts- Nayagarh, Boudh, Sonepur, Bolangir, Nuapada and Kalhandi were in the grip of drought with the situation being alarming in Nayagarh. The state government should immediately declare the affected areas in these districts as 'drought hit', he asserted.

Addressing the media here, Mishra said, “The drought team of Congress has already taken stock of the situation in these six districts and will soon visit 12 other districts that were facing drought like situation. We will also submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister within a fortnight to ensure that Orissa gets adequate drought assistance from the Centre.”

He also demanded that the state government should declare waiver of loans for the kharif agriculture season of 2011-12 for the farmers hit by drought besides providing seeds, fertilizers and insecticides for the rabi season.