BHUBANESWAR: The toll in flash floods in Orissa, triggered by heavy monsoon rains, rose to 23 Thursday, state Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Surya Narayan Patro said.
While highest number of deaths (ten) have been reported from Nayagarh district, Keonjhar, Kandhamal and Koraput districts have reported three deaths each, Patro said making a statement in the assembly.
Two deaths have been reported from Ganjam district, and one death each reported from Bhadrak and Cuttack districts, he said.
Most of the deaths were due to drowning, officials said, adding the flash floods and heavy monsoon rains have also hit farming in the state.
Rains continued to lash many parts of the state for the fifth consecutive day Thursday although the weather conditions have improved in parts of the coastal belt, including the state capital Bhubaneswar and adjoining Cuttack.
Patro said the situation is likely to improve soon as water levels in most of the rivers are receding.
Orissa is one of the major rice-growing states in India, and has about four million hectares under paddy cultivation. Over 62 percent of the cropped area in the state is rain-fed. Officials said sowing has been completed in only 33 percent of the area.
"The kharif sowing has slowed down in the past few days due to excessive rainfall in parts of the state," Agriculture and Food Production Director Arabinda Kumar Padhee told IANS.
The flash floods have submerged nearly 7,000 hectares, including 6,400 hectares in Nayagarh district and 250 hectares in Jagatsinghpur district.
Farmers who have suffered losses would be suitably compensated by the government, Padhee said.
Heavy rains have also slowed down the cargo handling operation in Paradip port, about 120 km from here, a senior port official said.
"The cargo handling operation has slowed down due to heavy rains," Paradip port trust chairman K.Raghuramaiah told IANS
