The Guntur district administration has estimated that agricultural crops in 1.35 lakh hectares and horticultural crops in 5,500 hectares have been damaged due to the recent cyclone Nivar. Paddy is the worst affected with damages reported in 1.33 lakh hectares.
District Collector I. Samuel Ananda Kumar told reporters here on Thursday that efforts were on to salvage crops in 22 mandals by draining out water. The revenue and irrigation department personnel have been working on a war footing. They engaged JCB machines to drain out water in 35,000 hectares.
Mr. Samuel said that fields of each and every farmer would be surveyed and the crop loss compensation would be credited directly to the accounts of farmers by December 31. The compensation would also cover farmers identified in e-crop. The enumeration would continue to include tenant farmers. Farmers, who have suffered losses, would be provided 80% subsidy for Bengal gram and green gram.
Crop harvesting experiments were going on to estimate the productivity and the district administration would also provide harvesting machines to farmers, said the Collector.
Procurement centres
The district administration has set up 164 paddy procurement centres and they have been integrated with Rythu Bharosa Kendras.
A control room was set up at the Collector’s office (94913 92717).
