Heavy rainfall in Krishna district has upset normal life, while inundating some low-lying areas, but was welcomed by farmers in the district.
About 70 mm of rainfall was recorded in the district and the tail-end areas of the river Krishna irrigation canal system were the beneficiaries.
The only worry for farmers was if winds/gales accompany rain all their standing crops would get inundated.
Nagalayanka mandal received the district’s highest rainfall of 84 mm on Tuesday, while an average of 70 to 80 mm of rainfall was recorded in the mandals of Koduru, Avanigadda and Mopidevi.
Less than 5 mm rainfall was recorded in Gampalagudem and Tiruvuru madnals bordering Khammam district, according to the weatherman.
“The water level of the canals across the district is normal and no report of excess flow was reported due to sporadic rainfall for the past 72 hours,” Krishna district Revenue Officer L. Vijaya Chander told The Hindu. A total of 925 mm of rainfall was recorded due to the North East monsoon on Tuesday.
The monsoon, however, brought cheers to the farmers as the showers would help the paddy fields attain the flowering stage.
There was also no thereat to paddy which was sowed early in majority areas in Krishna district during the kharif.
The forecast for farmers is that moderate to heavy rains are likely in most places in Coastal Andhra Pradesh till October 24.
There were several instances in the past of severe damage to paddy fields due to the heavy rain coupled with winds during the withdrawal of the North East monsoon in December. As much as 4 cm rainfall was recorded in Machilipatnam, while other areas such as Gudivada, Nuzvidu, Nagayalanka, Avanigadda also experienced heavy rainfall since Monday night.
Paddy is being grown in an estimated two lakh hectares in the district in the kharif season, in which sowing operations were largely delayed for two months due to untimely rains.
