Orissa declares 1212 villages as drought- affected

Bhubaneswar, Apr 23 (UNI) As many as 1212 villages, spread over 16 blocks in five districts in Orissa have been declared as drought - affected following the damage of kharif crops over 50 per cent.

Official sources said a majority of 803 villages in Balasore district had been declared as drought-affected, followed by 247 villages in Kendrapada district, 88 in Cuttack, 65 in Jajpur and 9 in Baragarh district.

The Revenue and Disaster Management Department, after assessing the crop damages in the villages, declared them as drought- affected.

The Agriculture department had been asked to provide all support to the farmers in these villages to overcome the crop loss.

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