BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday asked the field officials to visit areas which received more rainfall to assess damage to crop and if required, depute additional teams to such places.The Chief Minister reviewed the crop situation following the low pressure triggered rains in the State at a high level meeting at the Secretariat here. He directed the Agriculture department officials to monitor the crop situation.
Farmers have been advised to take harvested crop to a secure place following the rainfall. The Chief Minister, however, asked the officials to assess the situation of standing crop in the fields and take immediate corrective measures. He also asked the officials to ensure that paddy is procured from the farmers as per the minimum support price (MSP).
Besides, the Chief Minister asked the officials to implement the package announced by the State Government for pest attack and drought like situation properly. He advised that steps should be initiated for rabi crop so that farmers can start cultivation wherever possible. Official sources said there has been no damage to crop because of the untimely rains.
Meanwhile, a communication from the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said 15 districts received rainfall because of the low pressure. Puri, Ganjam, Nayagarh and Khurda districts received rainfall of 12 mm, 11 mm, 10.6 mm and 9.4 mm respectively.
Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Damodar Rout, Minister for Cooperation Suryanarayan Patro, Chief Secretary AP Padhi, Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan, Vice-Chancellor of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) Surendranath Pasupalak and senior officials attended the meeting.