BHUBANESWAR: Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik on Monday held the state government responsible for the massive crop damage in several districts due to unseasonal rains and said it would not have occurred if advance information on the inclement weather had been provided to the farmers.
The former chief minister and BJD president on Monday visited different areas of Ganjam including his Assembly constituency Hinjili, Aska, Kabisuryanagar and Khallikote to make a ground assessment of the crop damage. He walked into the affected agricultural fields and interacted with farmers about their plight.
“The farmers told me that they had no advance information about rain, or advisory. Had farmers received prior information about unseasonal rain, they could have saved their crop,” he told mediapersons after the visit.
Stating that the crop loss has been extensive, Naveen said that the assessment by the government should be made as early as possible and the farmers should be paid compensation quickly. “I have visited five areas of Ganjam district today. The crop damage is severe and farmers are in distress. They must be compensated quickly as was a practice during our tenure,” he added.
The BJD president said during his visit farmers appealed to him for early assistance, else they will migrate to other states.
Expressing concern over the inaction of the government when farmers are going through such a critical period, the BJD president assured them that he will fight for their rights.
According to the information received from the office of the leader of the Opposition, Naveen is scheduled to visit Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara on Tuesday as farmers of these districts have also been affected by unseasonal rain.
Reacting to his visit, Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari said the farmers are facing problems today because the former government did not do enough for them.
“Had Naveen met farmers when he was the chief minister, he would have been aware of the ground-level issues and his government would have developed infrastructure and assistance mechanism for them. The farmers would not have suffered today,” he said.