'Failure' to submit report: Orissa deprived of Central aid

Bhubaneswar, Oct 31 : Senior BJP leader Biswa Bhushan Harichadan today alleged that not a single district in Orissa figured in the list of drought-affected districts due to non-submission of a report by the state government to the Centre on crop situation.

Mr Harichandan, also the former state minister, said many parts of the state were facing a serious drought and farmers were committing suicide one after the other due to crop failure.

''Still the government failed to submit a preliminary report on the crop situation to the Centre. Due to inefficiency of the state government, no district in Orissa figured in the list of 300 districts declared drought-affected by the Union government,'' he said.

Mr Harichandan said famrers committed suicide at Harsuguda, Sambalpur, Nuapara, Nabarangpur and Koraputeiher due to inadequate rainfall or loan burden.

''But instead of taking preventive measures the government was only issuing statements,'' he said.

He said the government off late had admitted that in some cases, farmers had committed suicide due to crop failure and announced to pay a compensation of Rs 4,000 per hectare in the irrigated land and Rs 2,000 per hectare in non-irrigation land for crop loss due to caterpillar attack which is inadequate.

He also described the government's decision to constitute a secretary level committee under the Chairmanship of Agriculture Promotion Commission as an effort to divert the public opinion.

Mr Harichandan demanded the government to formulate an agricultral policy, announce incentive, provide quality seed for Rabi, provide irrigation facilities, make loan available at a lower rate of interest and grant adequate compensation to prevent farmers from committing suicide.

He said the BJP would intensify its ongoing agitational programme if the government did not take any step to address the problems of farmers.

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
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