A four-member Central Study Team visited Koriya district on Friday to make an assessment of the drought situation in the district.
They took stock of the crop situation in Mansukh, Ratanpur, Bajaridhand and Badrad villages. Moreover, they also held discussions with the farmers about the crop loss incurred and availability
of drinking water and management of livestock.
The team led by Niti Aayog’s Senior Research Officer Dr Ramanand inspected the fields in Salba village of Baikuntpur and also had a look at the crops damaged due to scanty rainfall.
A farmer named Mohan said more than 75 per cent of his crops have been spoiled.
Another Farmer Ram Vilas Sahu said he had transplanted hybrid paddy in around two acre land which was affected by the low rainfall. Meanwhile, Farmer Veer Bahadur said out of his five acres land, he failed to farm in three acre land due to shortage of water.
During their interaction with the farmers and Panchayat representatives at Mansukh village, the team was informed that paddy is the only produced crop which was completely affected due to the drought.
Koriya District Collector S Prakash urged the farmers to share their grievances regarding the drought with the Central Team.
District Superintendent of Police BS Dhruv, Zila Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Kumar Jha along with officials from Agriculture, Revenue and Water Resources departments accompanied the team during the visit.
