(TOI)
Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday urged his cabinet colleague Radha Mohan Singh, agriculture minister, to extend all possible support to the farmers faced huge crop loss due to the recent Nor’wester rain.In a letter to Singh, Pradhan said standing crops in thousands of acres in Odisha got damaged due to the untimely rain. “Intensity of the crop damage is high in Bargarh, Jajpur, Sonepur, Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj and Balasore. Some pockets of these districts are already in the bottom of the poverty pyramid and the recent calamity will add woes to the farmers,” said Pradhan in the letter. He said the situation has already forced farmers to take drastic steps and two farmers have attempted suicide. “Keeping all these issues in mind, I request you to facilitate assessment of the situation and extend all possible support,” he said in the letter.
