Bhubaneswar: A central team will visit Odisha for assessing the drought situation and to suggest remedial measures to tackle the crisis.
The central team comprising the officers of the Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Ministry and a representative of ICAR-Central Rice research Institute, Cuttack will visit Odisha soon. The team headed by Additional Commissioner RP Mallick and the State officials will visit the drought-hit districts. After assessing the situation, they will submit the report to Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.
The move came after Union Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan intervened into the matter and requested his Cabinet colleague Radha Mohan Singh to depute a central team to take stock of situation in Odisha and suggest the strategies for combating agrarian and rural distress.
Pradhan has highlighted that 8 districts namely Dhenkanal, Khurda, Bolangir, Boudh, Bargarh, Subarnapur, Kandhamal and Kenosha have received less than normal rainfall. Additionally, agricultural activities in 103 blocks in 23 districts have been adversely affected.
Lauding the move, the State BJP leaders including party president KV Singhdeo, leader of legislature party Basant Panda, MLA Ravi Nayak, party secretary Bhrugu Baxipatra, farmer leader Maheswar Sahoo, state executive members Dillip Mallick and Kalandi Samal have expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Pradhan and Radha Mohan Singh for considering the State issue, party spokesperson Samir Mohanty.
