Bhubaneswar, Feb 17 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday urged the Centre to increase allocation of fertilisers to the state to safeguard the interest of farming community.
"Taking into account the cropping pattern and soil fertility level, it is estimated that the ideal fertiliser consumption for the state would be about 126 kg per hectare (Ha). But due to inadequate allocation and supply of fertilisers, the state has not been able to achieve the desired level of fertiliser consumption," said the chief minister in a letter to union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.
He said that while the allocation of fertilisers itself remains low compared to the demand, the state receives only about 80 percent of the urea, especially during the Kharif season.
He said Odisha with an average fertiliser consumption of only 57 kg per Hectare lags much behind the national average of 127 kg per Ha during 2013-14. Drawing a comparison of Odisha with states having almost equivalent extent of gross cropped area like West Bengal, Bihar and Punjab, Patnaik said allocation of fertilisers to those states is much higher.
"Such discrepancy in the allocation of fertilisers is more pronounced in the case of urea," he added.
Patnaik also complained to the Centre about not getting fertilisers during the schedule to match the peak demand period resulting in scarcity of fertilisers.
He said the Odisha government has taken up several innovative steps for strengthening the fertiliser distribution system in the state.
"We have created a corpus fund of Rs.100 crore for pre-positioning of fertilizers through state agencies like MARKFED and OAIC. Besides, steps have been taken to construct new storage godowns at the district level. All these measures would certainly help in improving the availability of fertilizers and consumption," said the chief minister.
Indo-US relationship not directed at China: US envoy
Kolkata, March 11 (IANS) Describing the Sino-Indian and Indo-US relations as complex and comprehensive, US ambassador Richard Verma asserted on Wednesday that strong ties between New Delhi and
Elon Musk, the world's biggest rich, donated $ 5.74 billion in shares, know how much is the net worth
Elon Musk, the world's biggest rich, donated a total of 5,044,000 shares of his electric car company Tesla in November last year. He had donated these shares between November 19 and 29. Tesla is the
'I am very impressed with your minister, watch his speeches', UAE minister praises Jaishankar
UAE Minister Praises Jaishankar: United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Artificial Intelligence Omar Sultan Al Olama has called on Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has been praised a lot. He told
Geelani Force In Kashmir: Now Pakistan is making Kashmiri youth terrorists in the name of Geelani Force
The hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, whom Pakistan had kept alive after using it for its agenda, is now trying to keep the dying terrorism alive in Kashmir with the help of it. He has created a new
Naval Power: Is China's naval power now more than America's? Sensational disclosure of American official
Amid growing tension in the world, the US Navy has raised the concern of western countries by saying that China has gained an edge over America in naval power. China now has a larger fleet than the US
President Ram Nath Kovind meets PM Modi, expresses concern over serious security lapse
President Ram Nath Kovind has expressed concern over the security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab. The President met PM Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan today. During this, the
Why did R Ashwin silence the panelist as soon as MS Dhoni's name came up? He said- don't talk about him...
Chennai Super Kings are in poor form in IPL 2025. CSK has won only two out of 7 matches so far and is at the last position in the points table. The CSK team will have to do a miracle to move ahead.
Mohammed Siraj made a sensational disclosure, the man had contacted the fast bowler to give 'inside information
Indian team fast bowler Mohammad Siraj has reported 'corrupt thinking' to BCCI's anti-corruption unit. Siraj told that a man contacted him and wanted to know the inside news. The man had lost money in
Bengal Files: Shashvat Chatterjee shrugged off the ongoing controversy over 'Bengal Files', said- 'I am not a historian'
Vivek Agnihotri starrer 'Bengal Files' is currently surrounded by controversies. There was a lot of uproar at the trailer launch event of the film held in Kolkata recently. Along with stars like
Mulayam Singh doing well: Akhilesh Yadav
New Delhi/ Gurgaon, March 7 (IANS) Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav who was admitted to a private hospital Saturday for suspected swine flu is recovering "well", his son and Uttar Pradesh
