Drought hits 18 million in Indian state

The Indian state Orissa is facing one of the worst droughts in its history because of poor rainfall during last monsoon.

The state government says 11,807 villages are suffering from lack of water and loss of crops, affecting about 18 million people.

The government has ordered emergency feeding centres to open.

State Revenue Minister BB Harichandan says that by the end of the month, more villages may be declared as drought-hit after local officials submit their harvest reports.

Crop loss of 75% or more has been reported in 6,023 of the drought-hit villages, he says. In other villages, the crop loss has varied from 50 to 74%.

Mr Harichandan says there have been no starvation deaths so far.

The state government has given £6m to the affected areas and is seeking an additional £6.5m from the national government.

Orissa is one of India's poorest states. Its eastern portion suffers from devastating cyclones and floods while the inland regions had virtually no rainfall last year.