Govt will soon provide crop loss assistance to flood-hit farmers: Odisha Chief Minister

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said the state government will soon provide assistance to the farmers for their crop loss due to the recent floods in Odisha.

“Our farmers are worried over the recent floods in the state. I want to tell our framers that I was always with them. I have directed the officials to submit the damage assessment reports at the earliest. We will soon provide crop loss assistance to the flood-hit farmers,” Patnaik said while releasing Rs 869 crore to the bank accounts of around 42 lakh farmers under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme.

Around 41 lakh small farmers and 85,000 landless households received Rs 2,000 each under KALIA scheme on the occasion of Nuakhai, a popular agrarian festival in Western Odisha.

“Nuakhai festival has been associated with the farmers and their produce. We are proud of our farmers. I am extremely happy by releasing assistance under KALIA scheme to our farmers on this auspicious day,” Patnaik said.

The Chief Minister also claimed that the KALIA scheme of Odisha is the best scheme in the country for providing assistance to the farmers. “Landless farmers are also getting assistance under KALIA scheme. We had released Rs 800 crore to the bank accounts of KALIA beneficiaries on the occasion of Akshaya Trutiya in May this year,” he said.