1 min readBhubaneswarSep 4, 2011 03:17 AM IST
First published on: Sep 4, 2011 at 03:17 AM IST
Orissa on Saturday declared drought-like situation in 16 of its 30 districts. Last year,17 districts were hit by drought.
CM Naveen Patnaik,who reviewed crop-loss due to lack of timely rains in July and August,said a drought-like situation prevailed in 16 districts despite rains in late August.
Though depression over Bay of Bengal last week did bring some rain to the parched state,it is not enough,with most of these 16 districts getting less than 50 per cent of normal rainfall.
The CM announced a package for the affected farmers,including 30,000 diesel pumpsets at subsidised rates. By mid-December,10,000 defunct lift irrigation points would be made operational. Meanwhile,non-availability of paddy has stolen the cheer from Nuakhai celebrations in western Orissa this year.
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