The High Court has directed the Collector of Keonjhar to sort out the issue of insurance claims made by some drought-hit farmers in the district. There has been an inordinate delay in disbursing insurance money to them, it was said. Notably, some farmers were affected by drought in 2015 in Keonjhar. Though they had paid premiums, they had not received their insurance claims for the crop loss. These farmers have been leading a miserable life after the loss of crops and without the insurance money. They sought to know why the state government is not bothered about their insurance claims when it brags about serving farmers through KALIA. They had taken up the issue at various levels and the district administration. As nothing happened, they moved the High Court. Over 50 farmers from Barkhandia, Mahadevpur, Asuki, Khuntapada, Arshala, Durgapur, Andhari Khamani, Sundhi Murusuan, Balabhadrapur and Prabhatipur had filed a writ petition. Hearing the petition, the High Court asked the district administration April 8, 2019, to settle the case within four months. Farmers including Dharanidhar Sahu, Duryodhan Sahu, Prasanna Kumar Nayak, Durlaabh Behera, Dukhabandhu Barik, Nilamani Behera, Pramod Sahu and Parmananda Dandasena furnished a copy of the HC order to the Collector. They demanded that the district administration should ensure early settlement of the insurance claims. Source - http://www.orissapost.com/