Mango growers in Sattupalli constituency bore the brunt of the unseasonal rain, which accompanied by strong gales, inflicted severe damage on mango crops which are under various stages of harvesting. Mango is cultivated in a total of 37,205 hectares in the district. Of this, nearly 18,000 hectares of the land under mango cultivation is in Sattupalli constituency comprising Kalluru, Vemsur, Penuballi, and Sattupalli mandals.
The untimely rains that lashed various parts of the district on Saturday night caused severe damage to the mango crops in the district. Chilli, Papaya, Banana and other crops were also reportedly damaged to some extent in Yenkuru, Madhira, Garla, Bayyaram, Bhadrachalam, Sattupalli and several other mandals.
According to official sources, Bhadrachalam mandal recorded the highest rainfall of 64.4 mm in the last 24 hours till 8 a.m. on Sunday. The district recorded an average of 18.1 mm. Several parts of the district are likely to witness rain in the next 24 hours, sources added.
Meanwhile, Sattupalli MLA S. Venkata Veeraiah visited the rain-affected areas including Pullaiah Banjara village in Kalluru, Ramannapalem and Adasarlapadu villages in Vemsur mandal on Sunday.
He inquired about the crop losses incurred by the farmers due to the unseasonal rain.
The mango growers narrated about the damage caused by unexpected rain specifically the strong gales to the mango groves at Rammannapalem.
They deplored that the untimely rain shattered their hopes of good harvest of mangoes at the crucial second phase of picking of the fruits.
