Crop on 5.78 lakh hectare damaged by cyclone Jawad: Odisha government
BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Monday informed the inter-ministerial team visiting the State that a report on the damage caused by cyclone Jawad will be submitted to the Centre after completion of field assessment.
After a two-day field visit to assess the extent of damage inflicted by the cyclone, the six-member inter-ministerial team led by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Saurav Ray had a meeting with senior officers of the State government chaired by Chief Secretary SC Mahapatra.
The Chief Secretary apprised the Central team that as per eye estimate, standing crops on more than 5.78 lakh hectare in around 131 blocks of 12 districts were severely damaged. Ground-level assessment is on and will be completed within a week. A detailed damage report would be sent to the team after completion of the field assessment, he said.
The districts affected by cyclone induced rain are Ganjam, Bhadrak, Puri, Cuttack, Balasore, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Jajpur and Mayurbhanj. The Chief Secretary said most of the districts had recorded a bumper crop despite deficit rainfall initially which was covered up in the following months of the cropping season.
The crops were almost ripe when the cyclone hit the Odisha coast with heavy rainfall. Though the farmers tried their best, they could not harvest all the crops and collected whatever they could within a short span of time.
Agriculture Secretary Suresh Vashishth told the Central team that kharif crops other than paddy were extensively damaged due to heavy rain. Development Commissioner Pradeep Jena said farmers could not sow seeds for rabi crop due to excess water in the fields and due to the fact that the climatic condition of the State is not conducive for late rabi crop as the temperature starts rising by mid-February.
Acknowledging heavy loss to farmers at the ground-level, Ray said the affected farmers who suffered crop loss need immediate support and assistance from the government. The team - divided into two groups - visited the affected areas in Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Jajpur and Kendrapara districts.
Congress memo on crop loss relief
The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Monday demanded immediate payment of input subsidy and loan waiver of the farmers who have been affected by cyclone Jawad. A Congress delegation including chairman of the Odisha Pradesh Kissan Congress Amiya Kumar Patnaik met the Central team and submitted a memorandum seeking amendment to the Relief Code.
Stating that compensation provided to the farmers as per the Relief Code is meagre, the memorandum demanded that it should be increased to Rs 1.2 lakh per acre. Besides, the Congress demanded that farmers should be provided rabi seeds free of cost.
Patnaik announced that the Kissan Congress will stage a dharna in front of the Raj Bhavan here on December 15 if the government fails to provide immediate input subsidy to farmers.