Central team inspects damaged crops in Krishna dist
The team was led by Dr K Ponnusamy, Director of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department
Vijayawada: AnInter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) visited Krishna district on Monday to assess the agricultural and horticultural crop losses caused by the recent Cyclone Montha. The team was led by Dr K Ponnusamy, Director of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, and included Srinivasu Bairy, Director of the Central Water Commission (CWC), Hyderabad; Aarti Singh, Deputy Director (DP&M), Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power; and Manoj Kumar Meena, Assistant Director, Ministry of Rural Development. At Punadipadu village in Kankipadu mandal, the team inspected cyclone-affected paddy fields belonging to tenant farmers Pidigiddi Bharat Babu and Thumula Srinivasa Rao along the Kankipadu–Uppuluru main road. They examined the damaged MTU-1318 variety of paddy that had lodged due to heavy winds and waterlogging.
Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University Director and Scientist Prof Paladugu Satyanarayana explained the technical aspects of the damage. Demonstrating the difference between healthy and damaged grains, he informed the team that nearly 80% of the crop was destroyed as the fallen panicles had started germinating due to prolonged wet conditions. He added that with the paddy reaching harvest stage, the quality loss was irreversible.
Farmers expressed deep concern over the financial losses. Farmer Thumula Srinivasa Rao said, “I cultivated 30 acres on lease, and over 80% of my crop is gone. Normally, harvesting takes one hour per acre, but in the current situation, it takes three to four hours and even then, we may not recover our investment.” He added that each acre cost about Rs 35,000 to cultivate and that, irrespective of yield, tenant farmers are still obliged to pay 20 bags of paddy per acre as rent to landowners.
Krishna district collector DK Balaji briefed the officials about precautionary measures and the district administration’s response. He said that farmers were advised to spray a salt solution—5 grams per litre of water—to prevent sprouting and to stack fallen crops upright. He informed that crop loss enumeration had been completed and the report submitted to the State Government for further action.
Later, the IMCT visited a photo exhibition at the Gannavaram MPDO office depicting the extensive damages caused by Cyclone Montha. The exhibition showcased loss to paddy crops, orchards, roads, houses, boats, electricity poles, and livestock. Gannavaram MLA Yarlagadda Venkata Rao and former minister Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao briefed the team on the district-wide impact and urged for speedy financial assistance to farmers.
Andhra Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation Vice-Chairman and Managing Director and Central Team State Nodal Officer Dr S Dilli Rao, Joint Collector M Naveen, Vigilance Deputy Collector and cyclone district nodal officer Pothu Raju, District Agriculture Officer N Padmavathi, Civil Supplies GM T Sivaram Prasad, Vuyyuru RDO BS Hela Shoron, and Agricultural Scientist Dr Sudha Rani from Krishi Vigyana Kendra, Ghantasala, accompanied the team during the visit.
