Ranchi, Dec 7 (IANS) Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Friday asked a visiting Central team to assess the drought situation in the state and submit a report to the central government at the earliest so that relief can be provided to farmers.

The Central team is on a three-day visit of Jharkhand, where the government has declared 216 blocks in 18 districts drought affected.

The visiting team led by Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Satish Chandra met the Chief Minister on Friday.

Jharkhand Chief Secretary Sudhir Tripathy submitted a demand for Rs 818.938 crore from the central government for drought affected areas.

--IANS ns/mr