Declare Jharkhand drought-affected, demands JMM

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Tuesday demanded that the entire state should be declared drought-affected and accused the Jharkhand government of doing nothing for the farmers' relief in the state.

"The government is doing nothing for the farmers. The state is facing drought and no relief measures have been announced," JMM leader Hemant Soren told reporters here.

"The entire state should be declared drought-affected. Each state farmer should be given Rs.1 lakh compensation," the former chief minister said.

"The state government has begun to ration water. We demand a white paper on water availability in Jharkhand," he said.

Earlier, the Congress too demanded that the state be declared drought-hit.

Paddy crop has been damaged in 122 of ver 260 blocks of Jharkhand. The state government's initial report indicates damage to 25 to 40 percent of paddy crop because of scanty rains. In some areas, the damage is nearly 70 percent.

Officials said a satellite imagery report of the central government showed 15 of the 24 districts of Jharkhand were partially affected due to drought.

The government of Chief Minister Raghubar Das had sought a report from all districts on the drought situation and damage to crops. The reports have since been submitted to the state disaster management department.