JOIN USWhile the average rainfall is 590 mm, the taluk received nearly double this year. Excessive rainfall has been recorded at Kadur, Birur, Giriyapura, Emmedoddi and Sakharayapatna hoblis in the taluk.
A total of 130 houses were damaged in the taluk. In Kasaba 32 houses were damaged, while 18 houses were destroyed in Kadur town and 20 in Sakharayapatna hobli.
Farmers who had grown onion suffered huge loss as they could not shift the stock from the field. In the meantime, chilli kept for drying in about 80 acres of land were also destroyed due to the flooding.
Several agriculture fields in Linglapura and Mallapanahalli were inundated as the Vishnu Samudra tank was overflowing. Many houses in the region too were damaged due to the rains.
Farmers, who has grown ragi and toor dal were forced to abandon crops as the fields were flooded. It was estimated that ragi crops were grown in about 32,000 hectares. Harvesting was over only in 8,000 hectares. Horse gram, sugarcane and many other plants were also destroyed at many places in the taluk. A total of 34 tanks in the taluk brimmed over as a result of heavy rainfall.
In Sringeri
Farmers in the taluk are distress as the untimely rains has damaged major portions of their crops. The entire farming sector has suffered setback due to the downpour.
The taluk has a total of 2,100 acres arecanut plantation, wherein majority of the areas were hit by the recent rains.
Farmers will have to use drier or smoke plates to dry the arecanut as the rains continue to lash the taluk. Meanwhile, farmers face the problem of shortage of workers and firewood to dry arecanut. As a result, arecanut kept for drying have started decaying and the helpless farmers could do nothing but only curse themselves.
There area about 3,500 acres of paddy fields in the taluk and the crops in most of the regions have started decaying due to the flood. If the rains continues lash the taluk, paddy crops in the remaining fields too will be destroyed and the farmers will not be able to harvest it. Raw coffee beans in about 2,000 acres of plantations have started falling and the growers are struggling literally to collect and dry it. The plight of pepper growers too no different. It is estimated that the production of paddy will be reduced by 50 per cent and arecanut by 25 percent. While the taluk had received 3,999.6 mm rains between January and November in 2009, the rainfall recorded for the same period this year is 3,983.4.