Orissa Famine 1866

The Orissa famine of 1866 followed a severe drought and destruction of the Rice Crop. The government imported rice but it reached only when millions of people starved to death. This exposed the inability of the government to deal with the famine situation in Orissa, resulted in a fearful loss of life. The famine was followed by devastating floods. The famine and floods claimed life of around 40-50 Lakh people in 2 years, mainly due to outbreak of cholera and malaria. A similar kind of famine affected Bundelkhand and Rajputana also. The government established the Famine Commission under Henery Kempbell. Emphasis was laid down for infrastructure development so that the relief reaches in time.