Central team visits Nagaland to assess drought situation

Dimapur, April 24 (EMN): Following the unprecedented drought-like situation experienced by Nagaland last year, an inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) visited the state and held interaction with the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) and other line department officials in Kohima and Mokokchung on April 22.

The objective of the team’s visit was to verify and take on-the-spot reports of every affected area on the drought report submitted by the Nagaland government to the centre in the year 2021.

In Kohima, the team led by director of CWC, Sudhir Kumar; under-secretary of Food and Public Distribution and Krishi Bhawan, Ram Chandra; and the assistant director of MNCF/ DA, FW, Dr. Pradeep Kumar, held a briefing with the officials from the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and line departments at DC’s office, stated a DIPR report.

During the interaction, the team requested the Agriculture and PHE departments to develop an action plan prior to the onset of monsoon and to assist the farmers in cultivation in case of delayed or no rain. The team also requested the departments to assist by providing a sustainable source of water throughout the year not only in Kohima town but to rural people as well.

The team further requested the department of Animal Husbandry to be prepared in case of drought and epidemic situations in the state.

During the briefing, DDMA officials have highlighted drought-like situations in the state and drought mitigation measures undertaken during 2021. It added that measures to mitigate water scarcity in Kohima town undertaken by PHED, Kohima urban division, was also highlighted.

DDMA informed that an area of 1465.4 acre of agricultural crops was affected by drought situation during the 2020-2021 in Kohima district where 65 villages mostly from northern areas were reported to be affected.

The officials from the departments of Agriculture, Fisheries, PHE, RD, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry and Land Resource attended the meeting.

After the briefing, the team along with DDMA officials and line departments visited the drought hit site at Gariphema village for spot verification. Report added that the central team interacted with the farmers and encouraged them to upgrade their cultivating system. It was informed that 30-40 households in the village were affected by drought.

In Mokokchung, the team led by Dr. Jintu Das, joint director of Agriculture; Vijay Kr, deputy director of Fisheries;, and Mahesh Kumar, deputy director of Expenditure Finance Commission Division; held a briefing with the DDMA officials at Hotel Whispering.

During the interaction, the deputy commissioner of Mokokchung, Shashank Pratap, delivered the introductory speech. Powerpoint presentations were made by nodal departments including Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, Agriculture, Horticulture, PHED and Meteorology departments.

The team also visited Longkhum village side and held interaction with the affected farmers.