1 Lakh Acres Crop Damaged In Telangana Due To Hailstorm

The sudden changes in the wheather made farmers sad.As reports,preliminary assessment by the Agriculture department on the extent of crop damage in the recent rain and hailstorm in 20 districts of the State has revealed that standing paddy, maize and horticulture crops in about one lakh acres was damaged.The department has been carrying out the assessment of crop damage in the State for the past three days, and had dispatched field assistants to villages for the purpose. 

Agriculture Principal Secretary C Parthasarathi told Telangana Today on Wednesday that the department had begun receiving inputs from all the districts. Paddy crops were the most affected with damage reported in about 70,000 acres, which were either inundated or partially flooded in Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Suryapet, Siddipet, Medak, Adilabad, Rangareddy and Mahabubnagar districts.

Standing maize crop was the next most affected, with the crop in about 16,000 acres damaged in the State. “The figures may go up further once final reports start coming in from the districts,” Parthasarathi said, adding that horticulture crops such as mango, mosambi, papaya, banana and lime besides vegetables were also affected in the recent rains. He pointed out that paddy took a heavy beating since the crops were at the harvest stage.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had immediately, after the first spell of unseasonal rains, alerted all departments and directed the Agriculture department to immediately depute staff for field visits. He had sought a report on the crop damage to initiate further action.

The Agriculture department is also exploring various options to help the affected farmers. The Principal Secretary on Wednesday had a meeting with insurance companies to sanction crop damage claims within 48 hours of the submission of final report by the department. The insurance companies also agreed to release the insurance amount.

“Farmers can also get input assistance if the standing crop damaged was more than 33 per cent. The Agriculture department will send a proposal to the Central government for input assistance soon after receiving the damage assessment report,” Parthasarathi said.

Besides, the Agriculture department is also alerting farmers about the possibility of more rains and giving tips on precautionary measures like shifting harvested crop to safer places from the fields.