Adilabad: The Agriculture Department officials have started field-level surveys to assess the damage to the standing crops due to heavy rains and floods. The crop damage was high along the Penganga River in the Adilabad district and Peddavagu in the Komaram Bheem Asifabad district.
Farmers are appealing to the state government for Rs 40,000 compensation per acre for damaged crops since they had invested much more than that and would suffer huge losses if paid small compensation amounts. Farmer K. Sone Rao of Addagutta of Adilabad Rural mandal said fully grown cotton plants were inundated in the flood water, fell or uprooted due to floods, otherwise, they would get the yield next month. Primarily, the crop damage was estimated at 2,000 acres in 41 gram panchayats in Adilabad district.
The incomplete Korata-Chanaka barrage and Komaram Bheem projects do not have storage capacity and have failed to control the floods. That’s why floodwater was discharged downstream without storage in these projects. The Agriculture Department has taken up field-level surveys in Jainad, Bela, Tamsi and Talamadugu, Gadiguda, Adilabad Rural and Utnoor mandals where flood water inundated standing crops like cotton, soya, red gram and maize.
The standing crop damage was high in Sirpur (T), Bejjur, Kautala and Kagaznagar mandals, which are along the Peddavagu in the Komaram Bheem Asifabad district. The water discharged from the Komaram Bheem project flowed into Peddavagu and entered river Pranahitha and from there into river Godavari. Farmers’ leader Bandi Dattatri of Adilabad said standing crops including major crop cotton got damaged in more than 3,000 acres due to floods and rains in the district.