Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Releases KALIA Assistance for Kharif Season on Utkal Dibasa

Bhubaneswar: On the auspicious occasion of Utkal Dibasa, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today released the KALIA assistance for the farmers of the state. This assistance has been given for the farming work during the current Kharif season.

Farmers from all across the state except Jharsuguda have received this assistance. More than 43 lakh farmers have been given assistance of Rs. 877 crore. The assistance has been deposited directly to their bank accounts, as per an official release.

On the occasion of Utkal Dibasa, the Chief Minister congratulated the farmers and said that the development of the state is associated with the welfare of the farmers and hence we started the new financial year by providing the assistance on this day.

He also said that today Odisha is self-reliant in production of food grains and is also contributing to the country’s food reserves, only due to the efforts of the lakhs of farmers.

Stating that the state government has taken many steps for the improvement of agriculture, the Chief Minister advised them to use more machines and modern equipment in agriculture. The state government is implementing several missions to increase the production of nutritious food in the state and improve the farmers’ income. He also advised the farmers to focus on crop diversification.
On this occasion, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Ranendra Pratap Swain said that KALIA Yojana has made the farmers self-reliant. Farmers’ morale has improved with relief from farm loans.

During this occasion, a few farmers – Gopinath Pangi of Malkangiri, Sulochana Nayak of Puri district and Dipanjali of Bargarh shared their views on the impact of KALIA scheme and how it brought changes in their lives.

Kiran Kumar Sahu, from Kukudakhandi block of Ganjam district, who received the KALIA scholarship, described how he got the opportunity to study at Berhampur MKCG Medical College.
Secretary to CM (5T) VK Pandian moderated the programme.

Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena, Development Commissioner Anu Garg, Principal Secretary of Agriculture Department Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee and other officials were present on the occasion.