Central team visits Orissa to assess crop loss
By IANSTuesday, December 28, 2010
BHUBANESWAR - An eight-member central team visited several places in Orissa to assess the crop damage caused by untimely heavy rains earlier this month, an official said here Tuesday.
The central team, led by Pankaj Kumar, joint secretary in the agriculture ministry, arrived here Tuesday and visited Ganjam and Bolangir districts in two batches, special relief commissioner Nikunja Sundaray told reporters.
The team will stay in Orissa for four days and will visit at least four worst hit districts, he said.
The central government sent the team after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi last week to seek help.
Most parts of Orissa saw widespread rains Dec 6-9 which damaged winter paddy crops still lying in the fields. The state government said over fifty percent of crops sowed in over 19,000 hectares in 23 of the state’s 30 districts were destroyed.
