Rain damages crops in 14K hectares in Kurnool

Kurnool: The rains that lashed for two consecutive days, Friday and Saturday, has caused enormous damage to crops' in thousands of acres in Kurnool district. Cotton, groundnut and bengal gram crops were badly damaged due to flooding if rainwater. With the rains stopped since Saturday afternoon, the stagnant water in the crops is slowly receding.

Joint Director of Agriculture (JDA) Uma Maheshwaramma told The Hans India that the exact damage to crop is yet to be ascertained as assessment of crop damage is still going on. Presently, groundnut, bengal gram and cotton crops were submerged in the floodwater. Uma Maheshwaramma said till Sunday, crops in 14,000 hectares were completely submerged in floodwaters. A clear picture of total damage would come in a day or two, said the JDA.

Similarly, the horticulture crops, tomato, chilly, onion, banana and papaya were also affected with the rains. Around 1,340 acres in Dhone constituency alone were affected with the flood waters, said the horticulture officer, Sagarika. She said onion, chilly and tomato crops were worst affected in the floodwaters. Though the rains have come to halt there is no chance of receding in floodwater, he said.

With the stagnation of water, the crops will be damaged, he said and added except tomato, onion and chilly crops, banana and papaya are less affected, said Sagarika.