4.61 Lakh Hectares of Farm Crops Damaged by Two Cyclones
Atchannaidu directed the officials to identify the pending cases district-wise and complete the enumeration quickly.
Vijayawada: Agriculture minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu has directed officials to speed up the enumeration of crop losses caused by cyclones Arnab and Murasu, stressing that no eligible farmer should be left out of the assessment process.
Reviewing the damage through a teleconference with senior agriculture and horticulture department officials on Tuesday, he called for a comprehensive field-level assessment and early completion of the enumeration. Officials said agricultural crops across 4,61,194 hectares and horticultural crops across 29,960 hectares had been damaged by the two cyclones.
Cyclone Arnab damaged crops over 3,27,843 hectares, or 30.05 per cent of the 10,90,933 hectares cultivated in 15 districts, affecting 5,23,136 farmers. Production losses were estimated at 9,78,091 tonnes and financial losses at Rs 2,392.84 crore.
Konaseema district suffered damage to 99.19 per cent of its cultivated area, affecting 94,808 farmers and causing losses estimated at Rs 348.88 crore. The estimated compensation requirement was Rs 815.57 crore under SDRF and Rs 714.96 crore under NDRF.
Cyclone Murasu damaged 1,33,351 hectares, or 23.71 per cent of the 5,62,445 hectares cultivated in nine districts, affecting 1,86,269 farmers. Production losses stood at 3,38,302 tonnes, with financial losses estimated at Rs 816.53 crore. The estimated SDRF and NDRF compensation requirements were Rs 321.64 crore and Rs 266.67 crore respectively.
In horticulture, Arnab damaged 23,211.48 hectares in 215 mandals and 1,310 villages across 15 districts, affecting 58,990 farmers. Enumeration has been completed for 99.24 per cent of the affected areas, with details of 360 farmers pending. Fourteen districts achieved 100 per cent coverage, while Krishna recorded 86.67 per cent.
Murasu damaged 6,748.52 hectares in 106 mandals and 530 villages across eight districts, affecting 12,586 farmers. Enumeration has covered only 32.77 per cent, leaving 4,536.79 hectares belonging to 9,194 farmers pending.
Atchannaidu directed the officials to identify the pending cases district-wise and complete the enumeration quickly.
