Farmers in Kalahandi seek compensation over drought-like situation

Farmers in Odisha's Kalahandi marched from a village to the district headquarters here on Monday to seek compensation over the drought-like situation in the region due to deficient rainfall.

The peasants, around 100 in number, handed over a memorandum to Additional District Magistrate Sarat Chandra Srichandan, demanding that the entire Bhawanipatna block be declared drought-affected and incentives given to the affected farmers, an official said.

According to the weekly crop assessment by the Agriculture Department, paddy fields have been affected in non-irrigated pockets till August as 10 out of 13 blocks experienced erratic rain.