A ten-member inter-Ministerial Central team would arrive in the State on Wednesday evening to assess the drought situation.
“The team headed by Union Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary K Srinivas is scheduled to visit drought-affected districts on December 3 and 4, after which it would have a meeting with State Government officials at the State Secretariat on December 5,” informed Special Relief Commissioner Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra.
The Centre has constituted the team after the State Government submitted an interim memorandum on drought to the former, said Mohapatra.
“The team would visit Nuapada, Kalahandi, Balangir and Bargarh, which are stated to be most-affected districts by drought, in two groups by helicopter on Thursday morning. They might visit more districts,” said Mohapatra.
He further said the team, after completing the tour, would return to Bhubaneswar on December 4 afternoon and attend a review meeting presided over by the Chief Secretary at the State Secretariat on the following day.
The team would leave for New Delhi on December 6.