Odisha Govt To Provide Assistance For Crop Damage To Phethai-Hit Farmers

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will provide financial assistance to farmers for damage to paddy crops in the cyclonic storm Phethai that had the landfall near the Andhra Pradesh coast on Monday.

Talking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi said there are reports about damage to paddy crops in some districts in the south and western Odisha.

“We have asked the district collectors to submit a detailed report on the loss of crops in these districts. On the basis of the report, we will assess the extent of crop damage and provide financial assistance to the affected farmers from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) as per the insurance provision,” he added.

The SRC further said that till December 18, the cyclonic storm had triggered heavy rainfall in the south and western Odisha districts of which Jharsuguda received the maximum 75.3 mm followed by Sambalpur (73.5 mm), Sundargarh (71.8 mm), Bargarh (71.5 mm), Deogarh (68.3 mm), Sonepur (67.7 mm), Gajapati (66.6 mm), Boudh (55.4 mm), Rayagada (45.8 mm), Angul (45 mm), Koraput (44.9 mm), Kalahandi (43.9 mm), Nayagarh (43.7 mm), Ganjam (43.5 mm), Balangir (41.7 mm), Keonjhar (40.4 mm), Nuapada (38.6 mm), Kandhamal (38.5 mm), Mayurbhanj (29.4 mm), Nabarangpur (27.5 mm) and Dhenkanal (27.3 mm). Besides, Khurda has recorded 16.2 mm rainfall while Cuttack and Malkangiri districts have recorded 12 mm and 10.3 mm rainfall respectively.

The average rainfall in the state till December 28 was 37.5 mm, he pointed out.