CM seeks crop damage report by December 30

Bhubaneswa: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday directed the agriculture officials to ensure that all farmers affected by the unseasonal rains get financial assistance and asked them to submit crop damage assessment report by December 30. After receiving the report, the assistance money would be directly credited into the bank accounts of the farmers, he said in a statement.

Chairing a high-level meeting to review the situation, Majhi said farmers of the State have sus-tained losses due to unseasonal rains since December 20. He appealed to the farmers to sub-mit to the government the details of their crop damage by December 29.

“It was informed in the meeting that 1.26 lakh farmers have so far informed about the losses and damage of their crop under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana. The Chief Minister appealed to all farmers, both insured and non-insured, to inform about the loss and damage to their crops through the ‘Krishi Rakhatha’ portal or by calling 14447 by tomorrow,” an official said.

Majhi also directed the officials to conduct a massive awareness programme so that all the in-sured farmers can file claims with the insurance companies about the loss and damage to their crops within the stipulated time frame. Among those present in the meeting were Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo, who holds the Agriculture portfolio, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, Food Supplies Minister K C Patra and Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja.

Unseasonal rain lashed several parts of the State causing damage to standing crops in several coastal and interior districts.

An official statement had said that the many coastal and interior districts such as Angul, Balasore, Bhadrak, Boudh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Deogarh, Gajapati, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kandhamal, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Khurda, Koraput, Mayurbhanj, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Puri and Rayagada have sustained crop loss.