Due to the severe cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ and rain in Odisha, there is a possibility that crops grown on 1.75 lakh acres of land will be destroyed and 2.80 lakh acres of land will be submerged. A senior official gave this information on Saturday citing preliminary estimates.
The official said the state government has directed agriculture and revenue department officials to assess the crop loss due to the cyclone.
Principal Secretary of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Department, Arabinda Padhi, said in a post on social media platform There is a possibility of destruction. Crops grown on an estimated 2,80,000 acres (1,12,310 hectares) of land are suspected to be submerged.
He said, “We have directed the regional officers of the Agriculture Department to form teams under the supervision of District Magistrates along with their colleagues from the Revenue Department to assess and calculate the crop loss (33 per cent and above).”
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said during a review meeting on Friday night that the final estimate of the loss in the agriculture sector will be known from a detailed report, based on which the government will decide on compensation for farmers. He said that about eight lakh people have been shifted to shelters set up to protect them from the cyclone and people can go back to their homes once the weather improves.
An official said that due to the cyclone, power supply to about 22.42 lakh houses was disrupted. According to the official, power supply to 14.8 lakh of these houses was restored by Friday evening, while power supply to the remaining houses will be restored by Saturday.
