Crop damage: Farmers take govt team to task

“We have lost our crops to unseasonal rain two months back. Why did you come so late. The cattle belonging to farmers have already been fed crops damaged by rains. There is nothing left to make you realise the losses we have suffered,”  this is how the farmers of Devinagar Camp in Siraguppa taluk of the district greeted the Central crop damage assessment team.

The three-member team, led by Central Agriculture and Cooperation department Joint Secretary R B Sinha, and comprising Additional Commissioner Anilpratap Singh and Energy department Deputy Director S K Rajendra, faced with a barrage of questions and complaints by the irked farmers, slipped into silence for a while.

The farmers took the Central team to task for the delayed visit.  The chief of Central team R B Sinha tried to soothe farmers by saying that we have come here to bail you out of crisis situation.

The farmers complained to the Central team that the district administration has not assessed the extent of crop damage properly. It has estimated that crop on 18,000 hectares of land was damaged due to thunder showers in April. But crops on over 50,000 hectares of land has suffered extensive damage.

Bidar

Three-member inter-ministerial team comprising Director of National Project on Rinderpest Eradication Dr Akhilesh Kamal, Assistant Director, Finance B K Mishra and Union RDPR Under Secretary Rakesh Bhardwaj on Tuesday visited several villages in Bidar district to assess damage caused to Horticultural crops by April showers.

The Central team visited several farms in Anadurur, Hallikhed, Kabeerabad and Kanakatta villages in the district and interacted with the farmers.

Deputy Commissioner Dr P C Jaffer told the Central team that horticultural crops including mango, cashewnut, ginger among others on 2,800 hectares of land worth Rs 47 crore were damaged. The district administration has submitted a proposal seeking compensation to the State and the Centre as per the guidelines laid down by competent authority.

A similar team visited Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts also.