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Following demands by farmers and opposition parties to declare Tamil Nadu a drought-hit state, chief minister O. Panneerselvam said that a high-level committee will be formed to assess the extent of farm distress. The north-east monsoon accounts for nearly 50% of Tamil Nadu’s annual rainfall, with the peak month being November.The October-December north-east monsoon usually accounts to 440mm of rainfall. But this year, the rainfall in these three months was just 168.3mm. Of the 32 districts in the state, 21 districts had a rainfall deficit of more than 60%. The other 11 districts had a deficit of 35-59%.