No respite from rain yet in Odisha

JEYPORE: AS rain continued to lash Koraput district for the fourth consecutive day, chilly wind and overcast condition led to a sudden dip in mercury making life miserable for people.

Areas like Koraput, Nandapur, Lamtaput, Laxmipur, Dasmantpur, Potangi and Semiliguda recorded 12 degree Celsius while the temperature was 15 degree in the plains. The district has recorded 57 mm of rainfall in the last two days. Due to inclement weather, people remained indoors and there was thin attendance in schools, banks and government offices. However, vehicular communication, which was hit in the last two days, was restored on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, officials of Agriculture Department and District Emergency Office have directed farmers not to resume harvesting and threshing of paddy till the weather clears. On Sunday, farmers of Jeypore, Kotpad, Borrigumma, Kunduta and Boipariguda had skipped Kharif crop cutting and harvesting fearing damage due to untimely rains. They had covered the threshed paddy stocks with polythene to protect it from rain. The district administration has directed revenue and agriculture officials to furnish crop damage reports at the earliest so that farmers can be compensated. Officials are yet to carry out field verification of crops.