CM KCR asks Chief Secretary to asses crop damage due to unseasonal rains

Hyderabad: Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari was directed to initiate measures for assessing the damage caused by unseasonal rains at many places, especially Choppadandi and Karimnagar rural mandals.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao asked the Chief Secretary to speak to the District Collectors on the crop damage suffered by farmers due to unseasonal rains and to prepare reports on the same for further action could be taken.

Since Friday night, unseasonal rains accompanied with thunderstorms and strong winds lashed several areas in the State.

Thunderstorms and rains on Saturday evening caused heavy damage to standing crops and harvest kept for drying in Indurthi, Gunukula, Mudimanikyam, Gagireddypalli, Sundaragiri, Kondapur, Ramancha, Ogulapur, Choppadandi mandal in Chigurumamidi mandal of Karimnagar district and in Peddapelli districts. Paddy which the farmers kept at IKP centre was dampened by the untimely rains and hailstones. If the government had started the IKP centers on time, this situation would not have come, farmers rued. In other villages, thunder and lightning, and heavy rain at once caused the harvested paddy to get wet in the purchase center. Even the paddy crop which has reached the harvesting stage was damaged.

The farmers are saying that this time the crop has suffered more damage due to the untimely rains. State Planning Commission Vice Chairman B Vinod Kumar worried about untimely heavy rain with hail in Choppadandi area. He advised the Collector to give a report on crop and other losses immediately and assured that the government will help the farmers in all ways. He asked District Collector RV Karnan to visit and assess the crop damage and other losses. He wanted the farmers and people to take proper precautions in view of weather department officials saying that untimely rains will continue for a few more days. Once the Collector's report is given, the government will provide all kinds of support, he said.