Odisha Assembly Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro on Friday directed Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marndi to make a statement on the deficit rainfall situation in the State within two days. The Speaker gave the ruling after Leader of the Congress Legislature Party Narasingha Mishra and Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja expressed concern over the deficit rainfall in Bolangir district. Mr. Saluja said one farmer’s death by suicide due to crop loss in the Sadar block of the Bolangir district this week has already been reported. The State government had been falsely claiming that 33% of the cultivable land in Bolangir had assured irrigation, he said. At least 17 of the 30 districts in the State have recorded deficit rainfall so far, according to weather experts.

Source: The Hindu July 19, 2019 17:33 UTC