NEW DELHI: Parliamentarians of all hues may be quite vocal on issues concerning farmers , but Lok Sabha on Wednesday witnessed presence of only 10-15% of its members when the House took up a discussion on the recent flood and drought situation in various parts of the country.The discussion along with the government's comprehensive reply lasted five hours, touching the crucial issue of farm distress due to natural disasters and what all the Centre has been doing to provide relief to the affected states.The members prioritised the discussion by deciding not to take up listed bills on Wednesday. But their sincerity to discuss the issue could not ensure their presence in good number in the House.Only 61 members (24 from opposition parties and 37 from the ruling alliance) were present in the House when Lok Sabha took up the discussion at around 2.25pm. The numbers went down to as low as 54 (barely the number required for quorum) two hours later.Though the number increased to 79 towards the end, the opposition bench at one point (4.35pm) was virtually empty as only 10 members could be seen present during the discussion.Most of the opposition members demanded adequate financial assistance from the Centre to deal with the situation so that the states could immediately provide relief to affected people.The government fielded three ministers - agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh, his deputy GS Shekhawat and minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju -to respond to the members' concerns. They assured the House that the Centre would not discriminate against any state while providing funds.The discussion was initiated by CPM member from Kerala, P Karunakaran, who spoke about floods in his state. BJP member Sanjay Jaiswal raised the drought issue in Bihar and suggested the House discusses flood and drought in the winter session so that a policy can be worked out before-hand for the next year.