Bhubaneswar: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik on Thursday sought adequate compensation to the farmers for crop loss caused by unseasonal rain in a time-bound manner.
In a letter to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president said that he visited Ganjam, Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada districts on December 30 and 31 and met farmers who have suffered huge losses due to unseasonal rains recently. “The farmers and their families are in severe distress. The rains have caused extensive damage to both paddy and nonb-paddy crops during the harvesting period,” he said.
Naveen claimed he was told by the farmers that they were not aware about the intensity of rains as the government advisory was not issued on time. Besides, at many places, the survey of crop damage has not yet been done, he claimed.
“The most disturbing and unfortunate part of the disaster is the suicide of farmers in different parts of the state,” the LoP said.
Stating that the confidence of farmers is shattered after the calamity, Naveen said, “I would like to demand that government must work hard and provide timely and adequate compensation so as to boost the confidence of farmers.”
Noting that Odisha faces frequent natural calamities because of its geographical location, the BJD supremo said that is the reason why his party has been demanding and will continue to demand special category status for Odisha.
“The government of Odisha must take the plight of farmers very seriously and order proper inqiry followed by timely compensation. Also, the government advisory to farmers on weather updates should be given in a timely manner henceforth,” the LoP added.
