RANCHI: The Ranchi district administration on Wednesday directed all Panchayat level officials to ensure 100% coverage of Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana in all the villages across the district. With a 50% deficit in rainfall, Ranchi is facing an early season drought.The sowing dates have extended till July 31 and large scale ramifications on kharif crops production is inevitable. Keeping the imminent loss in production under consideration, Deputy commissioner Rai Mahimapat Ray said, "All the beneficiaries must be insured by July 20 so that they could benefit from the funds allotted for preventive sowing. All the villages must ensure complete coverage of insurance by July 31."Rai also instructed the insurance companies to launch awareness programmes at the micro level in Panchayats and blocks across the districts using hoardings, posters and camps for including all farmers into the crop insurance schemes. "The application forms for crop insurance should be made available at the block-level office," he said.The district administration is also working on a contingency plan for combating the expected drought situation in Ranchi. District agriculture officer Ashok Kumar Sinha said seed distribution among the farmers is being done ahead of the sowing.Rai also instructed the block level officials to set up POS machines at all block offices to give easy access to fertilisers to the farmers.Ranchi has recorded a rainfall of 213.8mm till July 18, which is 50% less than the expected rainfall of 431.6mm. Though low pressure systems over the district has helped mitigating the crisis to some extent there is hardly any chance that the overall seasonal deficit will be recovered by the end of monsoon

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