PM Modi to meet Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik to discuss drought situation

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday hold a high-level meeting with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to discuss drought situation in the state.

Patnaik is likely to urge the Prime Minister to grant more aid for the drought that hit the state in 2015.

So far, the State Government has received about 600 crore rupees from the Centre towards drought assistance in three phases from the Centre.

Also, Patnaik had earlier talked to the Prime Minister and urged him to direct the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take up the repair and restoration of Jagamohana, the prayer hall of the Lord Jagannath temple in Puri at the earliest.

The Prime Minister assured Patnaik that he would direct the ASI, the custodian of the 12th-century shrine, for repair of the Jagamohan.

The Prime Minister had earlier held separate meetings with the Chief Ministers of drought affected states including Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.