ADILABAD: The floods washed away the happiness that farmers got by ‘Rythu Bandhu’ when it inundated cotton and soya crops cultivated with the investment from the scheme. The floods ended up dashing the hopes not only of farmers but also ruling TRS party leaders as far as the impact of the ‘Rythu Bandhu’ scheme is concerned.
It is feared that the crop damage may result not only in fall in yield but also pests may attack before the plant grows to the cotton ball stage. As many as 1,35, 174 farmers were given Rs 210.18 crore at Rs 4,000 per acre under the Rythu Bandhu scheme in Adilabad district. The scheme even resulted in an area of cultivation under Kharif in the old Adilabad district. Many small and marginal farmers purchased seeds and fertilizers with the money they got under the scheme instead of depending on money lenders or crop loans from the banks.
In some places, while the standing cotton and soya crops have been flattened, in other places they have been submerged in the water. The crop damage was high in the Ichoda, Bela, Jainad and Tamsi and Talamadugu and Adilabad mandals following the heavy rains and floods. The ruling TRS party had pinned a lot of hopes on creating some positive impact on the farming community through the scheme. Now they and district officials are focusing on ensuring the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana National Crop insurance to the damaged crops if the farmers had paid insurance premium for this Kharif.
