Odisha's identifies 4 more districts as drought-hit, total 16

A day after chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced Rs 1,000 crore package for farmers hit by drought conditions in 12 districts, Odisha government today identified four more districts facing water scarcity.
"Reports received from field level say that crop loss to the extent of 33 per cent and above have also been been experienced in 16 more blocks spread over four districts like Balangir, Bargargh, Jharsuguda and Nuapada. Therefore, these 16 blocks will be included in the list of drought affected districts of the state," Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Bijayshree Routray told reporters.
He said the drought package announced by state government would be implemented also in the four additional districts, where farmers will get loan for Rabi crop among other assistances.

Some more areas may be identified as drought-hit as joint verification by officials of revenue and agriculture department was on and would continue till end of October, the minister said.
The addition of 16 more blocks of the four districts in the list of drought affected areas came after Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra of Congress raised question on the government's sincerity.
The opposition parties also questioned how Bargarh and Balangir districts were excluded from the list of drought-hit areas. "Maximum farmers suicide cases were reported from Bargarh and Balangir," said BJP state president K V Singhdeo.
Dubbing the state government's Rs 1000-crore package for drought-hit areas as a "political gimmick", Mishra said the farmers hit by drought in 2011 are yet to get assistance.

Routray had yesterday named Balasore, Boudh, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Khurda, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh, Nabarangpur, Puri and Subarnapur as drought-hit districts where 107 blocks reported crop loss was 33 per cent or more.