Finding that paddy sown in over 1,300 hectares of land has been damaged in Udupi district due to heavy rain in the last five days, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje on Monday directed Udupi officials to complete a survey of crop loss at the earliest and arrange for suitable compensation under the National Disaster Relief Fund.
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Chairing a district-level natural disaster review meeting, Ms. Karandlaje, who is the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Member of Parliament, said that since July 1, Udupi district has received 136% more than normal rainfall in the period. Paddy sowing picked up in the first week of July and so far, sowing has been completed in 13,526 hectares of land in the district. Of this, paddy sown in about 1,300 hectares of land has been damaged due to heavy rain.
The Union Minister asked the district officials to carry out the crop loss survey soon after rain subsides. Farmers should not just get compensation under the NDRF but also be provided with saplings of MO-4 variety of paddy for sowing, she said.
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Sharing the concern of fishermen over sea erosion, Ms. Karandlaje expressed the need for a permanent solution to prevent sea erosion. She said that funds under the NDRF cannot be now used for sea erosion prevention works. If the district administration submits a proposal, Ms. Karandlaje said, she will take up the matter with the Central government and do the needful.
On poor mobile network coverage in rural areas, Ms. Karadlaje said that this is because of disruption in power supply to mobile towers. She directed the district administration to jointly work with Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited and find a solution.
Asking officials to give the State government the correct estimate of damage to roads, schools, anganwadis, government buildings and bridges, she said that upgrading rural roads to Zilla Panchayat roads will help in speedy repair of roads. Asking National Highway Authority of India officials to speed up pending works on National Highways, she said that dark spots identified by the district administration should be cleared by scientifically realigning the road design to ensure safe driving.
Udupi MLA K. Raghupathi Bhat, Deputy Commissioner M. Kurma Rao, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer H. Prasanna, Superintendent of Police N. Vishnuvardhan and Additional Deputy Commissioner Veena were among the officials who attended the meeting.