Bhubaneswar: A high-level central team led by Union minister of state for agriculture and farmer welfare Gajendra Singh will visit Odisha from November 12 to assess crop loss caused due to pest attacks.

The team will also visit Bargarh district where incidents of crop loss due to pest attack has beeen maximum.

The announcement was made after Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh in New Delhi on Thursday and discussed prevailing situation in the state.

Agriculture minister Sin-gh accused the Odisha government of ignoring the advisory issued by the Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack.

"The advisory was issued on October 5 and 6 to the state government. Had the state government promptly taken action, the situation could have been averted," said Singh. Pradhan also accused the Naveen Patnaik government of failing to check distribution of fake pesticides.

"The state government had ignored it (inputs about sale of fake pesticides) too. On the basis of media reports, a central team had reviewed the situation with state government officials. It has come to light that fake pesticides were used. Pesticides were also not used at several places," Pradhan said. He also alleged that under the National Food Security Scheme, the Centre had disbursed Rs 53.78 crore to the state for distribution of seeds and pesticides.

"But the state government has been able to spent only Rs 1.98 crore," said Pradhan, adding that only package announced by the state government would not mitigate the problem of farmers. He was referring to Odisha' government Rs 124-crore agricultural package for pest-hit areas.

A six-member BJP team led by its MP Om Prakash Yadav will reach the state on Friday to analyse the crop-loss situation in Odisha. The team will visit the affected areas and submit a report to party president Amit Shah on the issue.

According to official reco- rd, a whopping 1.78 lakh hectare of paddy farm in nine districts in western Odisha have been damaged by pest attack. Six farmers have committed suicide because of crop failure, records say.

"The people involved in selling fake pesticides would be arrested. They should also be made to march on the streets before being jailed," said state panchayati raj minister Pradeep Maharathy.