Bhubaneswar: Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Monday undertook field visits in Ganjam district to take stock of crop damage due to unseasonal rain and urged the state government to provide adequate compensation to farmers who are in distress.
He interacted with affected farmers in Seragada, Aska, Kabisuryanagar, Khallikote and his Assembly segment Hinjili.
“I have visited five areas of Ganjam district today. The crop damage is severe and farmers are in distress. They must be compensated quickly as was a practice during our tenure,” Patnaik told reporters after the visit.
Describing cultivators as the backbone of the economy, the BJD president claimed that he was informed by hundreds of farmers, including women, that “no government official has so far visited their paddy field to assess crop damage”.
“The farmers told me that they had no advance information about rain or advisory. Had farmers received prior information about unseasonal rain, they could have saved their crop,” Patnaik said.
The BJD chief assured the farmers that he would fight for their rights.
“The unseasonal rain has broken their (farmers) backbone. Therefore, I strongly demand that the state government immediately provide adequate compensation to them,” the former Chief Minister said.
The BJD released video clips of Patnaik’s field visits and interaction with farmers.
During the visit, a farmer appealed to Patnaik to extend assistance and otherwise, many people will be forced to migrate for survival.
According to the information received from the office of the Leader of Opposition, Patnaik is scheduled to visit paddy fields in Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara Tuesday as farmers of these districts have also been affected by unseasonal rain.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said, “Had Patnaik met farmers when he was the CM, he would not have tasted defeat.”
Senior BJD leader and former minister Debi Prasad Mishra claimed that the BJP leaders are “afraid of Patnaik” and now they have started visiting agricultural fields to assess crop damage.
PTI
