Badly Hit

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 27: State Youth Congress president Pradeep Majhi today made inroads into the BJD supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s assembly constituency Hinjili and sat on a dharna protesting against the state government’s failure to address the plight of the farmers.

Majhi said: “the protest which started from the chief minister's constituency will be spread to other parts of the state. The government has failed to provide support to farmers who had been a victim of the untimely rainfall that occurred in the first week of December, 2010.”

On the other hand, the state government geared up its machinery to help farmers in providing them support to take up the rabi cultivation following the kharif crop failure due to drought and unseasonal rain. It was decided at a high-level meeting chaired by the chief minister that certified seeds would be provided to the farmers at a subsidised rate. Steps will also be taken up to boost maize cultivation in the tribe-dominated hilly areas.

Agriculture minister Damodor Rout said: “We have given Rs 100 crore to the water resources department to boost the irrigation programme in tribal and hilly areas. Four thousand deep bore-tubewell will be dug up, for which we will give 90 per cent subsidy.”

The state government has also decided to lay stress on the production of cereals and oil-seeds. A joint plan will be formulated by the agriculture and horticulture departments in this regard.