Paddy and banana crops in the district have borne the brunt of the monsoon with initial estimates putting submerged acreage under paddy at 1,000 hectares out of a total of 1,200 hectares that came under sowing with the onset of the rains.
Banana cultivation has been hit equally hard with the district office of the agriculture department estimating that nearly 1 lakh banana plants, both bunched and non-bunched, have either collapsed under heavy winds or remain submerged over the past seven days.
Reports are just coming in and these figures are from the first information reports received from various blocks in the district, said a senior official of the department on Wednesday.
The initial monetary losses have been put at more than Rs. 4 crore, about Rs. 3 crore being accounted for by damage to banana crop.
Large areas under vegetable cultivation, nutmegs, rubber, arecanut, and tuber crops like elephant foot yam, tapioca, have also been affected.
Ernakulam district has received 140 per cent more rain over the past seven days than the long-term average for the period, said data from Indian Meteorological Department. Ernakulam received 369 mm of rain during the past week against the normal rainfall of 149 mm.
Between June 1 and 26, the district received 1,156 mm of rain against the normal 589 mm, a departure of 96 per cent, IMD data said.
Banana plants damaged
Kothamangalam block has reported damage to more than 10,000 banana plants as well as 50 hectares of paddy, which remained submerged on Wednesday after heavy overnight rain. Twenty hectares under tapioca too has been submerged in Kothamangalam block and if the rain continues the entire crop will be lost, said a field official.Keerampara, Pallarimangalam, Paingottoor, Kottappadi and Kavalangad are among the villages seriously affected by the heavy rain and subsequent flooding.
Koovappady block has reported the loss of nearly 35,000 banana plants, which collapsed in heavy winds over two days. A total of 14 hectares of banana plantations are reported to have sustained serious damage and a hectare each under tapioca and rubber have also been lost to the rain and wind.
Moovattupuzha block has reported a loss of 10,000 banana plants till Wednesday. Banana crop in villages like Maradi and Aarakkuzha have sustained serious damage and reports said that a farmer in Ayavana had lost 2,500 plants.
Initial reports from Piravom indicated the loss of more than 2,500 banana plants and more than 500 rubber trees under tapping. Six hectares of vegetable and two hectares under tapioca have been submerged. Paddy has been totally lost on 2.4 hectares. Damage to paddy is likely to be more extensive though no confirmed reports have come in so far.
Thiruvaniyoor village has lost 40 hectares of paddy and another 20 hectares is on the verge of being submerged with the rain continuing. Poothrikka village too has sustained serious damage to paddy. Field reports said that 30 hectares under paddy and 10 hectares each under banana and vegetables has been lost.
Angamaly block reported submersion of 25 hectares of paddy, spread over Mookkannur, Kalady and Kanjoor areas. Around 20,000 banana plants have also been lost in the block.
Nedumbassery block has lost 8,000 banana plants and 25 hectares of paddy sown area has been submerged.
Submersion of the Pallikkeri paddy field collective in Choornikkara has resulted in a loss of more than 1,000 banana plants.
