With farmers agitating in several parts of Orissa to press for adequate compensation to crop damage due to unseasonal rains, chief minister Naveen Patnaik today said an assistance package would be announced for them soon.
With farmers agitating in several parts of Orissa to press for adequate compensation to crop damage due to unseasonal rains, chief minister Naveen Patnaik today said an assistance package would be announced for them soon.
"The government will soon come out with a package to assist the affected farmers," he said during a visit to affected villages in Ganjam district.
Patnaik, accompanied by revenue minister SN Patro and chief secretary BK Patnaik, went around several parts of Gajapati, Balangir and Sonepur to assess the damage to crops due to unseasonal rains for five days.
Besides paddy, sugarcane crop was also damaged in the rain, general secretary of Ganjam District Sugarcane Growers' Association Samir Pradhan said.
They requested Patnaik to write off the crop loan and grant adequate compensation for the loss.
Patnaik's visit to rain-hit areas followed farmers' agitation demanding compensation for crop loss due to rain, with opposition parties including Congress lending support.
Several demonstrations were staged by farmers in Ganjam and nearby areas.
With the paddy crop covering 2.23 lakh hectares in the kharif season, farmers in Ganjam district were expecting a yield of 35 quintal per hectare this year as against last year's 30.60 quintal per hectare.
Describing the loss of crop as "unprecedented", the revenue minister, who had held discussions with Ganjam district administration yesterday, said the loss in the district could be (roughly) over 50%.
"The exact loss will be known after the reports received from the district administration," he said.
With the paddy crop covering 2.23 lakh hectares in the kahrif season, the agriculture officials and farmers in Ganjam district were waiting for a bumper harvest expecting a yield of 35 quintal per hectare this year against last year's 30.60 quintal per hectare, to tide over the rain loss.
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