The present registration system for farmers to avail free weather information on the official website of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) is posing a problem for them as they are not able to read the Odia language the way it has been written in the registration form.
There is a direct link on www.imdorissa.gov.in for registration, through which farmers can get free weather information and forecast. By clicking on the link the Central Government’s www.imdagrimet.gov.in will be opened where farmers can get information in total 12 regional languages, including Odia, and Hindi and English.
There is a provision by the IMD and the Agriculture Ministry to provide free SMS to farmers regarding weather. To get the service, farmers are required to register their mobile phone number and crops on the website. The procedures for making registration on the IMD website have been clearly written in five points. After completion of these points, there is an option for click for registration. After clicking on the registration option, the site will take the applicants to a special page, in which Odia has been written in a manner farmers cannot read properly. Farmers cannot understand the next step they need to do for registration.
Neither the page nor the obscure words are being changed even after complaints have been made, sources said. While there is a clear mention about the procedures for registration in English and Hindi, the Odia portion has been misinterpreted. Although a pitch is being raised demanding use of Odia for all official purposes in the State, the wrong presentation of Odia on the IMD site is posing a problem for farmers of the State.