Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik yesterday distributed free mobile phones to thousands of farmers here as part of his government’s efforts to empower the farming community with latest technology, an official said.
The chief minister distributed cellphones to 5,000 farmers at a function organised by the government. The farmers would receive agriculture-related information from the government via SMS and voice calls, an official said.
The government will also send farmers prices of agriculture products, weather updates and other information, he said.
Farmers who have Kishan credit cards are eligible to get free cellphones from the government. The government would provide such phones to 15,000 more farmers in next few days, he said.
The opposition Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state separately described the move as political.
IANS
