Drought looms large in 16 districts

The Pioneer, 12th November, 2008

Drought looms large in 16 districts. The crop production including the paddy is likely to drop by 6 lakh metric tonne this year. Due to the lack of adequate moisture in the land, the paddy production has been affected in 2 lakh 28,043 hectare of land. "Both the Revenue and Agriculture Department will make a survey on the loss caused due to the lack of adequate moisture in the land and will submit a report to the State Government within 15 days," official sources said. Sources said if more than 50 per cent of the cultivation is lost in a particular area, the farmers of the entire village will receive the compensation. Before the Rabi crop, all the irrigation points would be repaired and two lakh hectares of land would be provided with water. A decision to this effect was taken at a high level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Agriculture Minister Surendranath Nayak attended the meeting.In the cultivated areas, the farmers would avail compensation to the tune of Rs 4,500 per hectare and in the non-cultivated area, the farmer would get a compensation to the tune of Rs 2,500 if the crop is lost. While 98,017 hectare of crops were destroyed in Nayagarh, 73,070 hectare in Malkanagiri, 18,000 hectare in Balasore, 31,067 hectare in Balangir, 1,078 hectare in Sonepur, 15,000 hectare in Ganjam, 6,028 hectare on Gajapati, 13,079 in Kalahandi, 12,041 hectare in Keonjhar, 5,096 hectare in Koraput, 14,056 hectare in Nabarangpur, 6,053 hectare in Rayagada, 6,036 hectare in Mayurbhanj, 4,00 hectare in Khurda, 6,022 hectare in Bargarh and 3,025 hectare in Sundargarh.