With over 40 per cent of kharif crops in the current season damaged as a result of inadequate rainfall and the escalation of the Cauvery water crisis, district administrations of Mandya and Ramanagaram expect a relief of Rs. 237 crore to provide compensation to those who have lost crops.
The prevailing drought has drastically hit growers in Ramanagaram. Agricultural and horticultural crops worth Rs. 132 crore were damaged because of drought in all the four taluks – Ramanagaram, Channapatna, Magadi and Kanakapura – B.R. Mamatha, Deputy Commissioner of Ramanagaram, said.
Speaking to The Hindu on the phone on Tuesday, the officer said that the district has suffered a 92 per cent loss. Ragi, coconut, mango and other crops were damaged over extensive areas. “We have conducted a survey and submitted a report to the State government,” she said.
Mandya
The recent survey has pegged crop loss in Mandya district to teh tune of Rs. 105.39 crore. A report was submitted to the State government in this regard recently.
The survey said at least 35 per cent of crops have suffered damage as a result of drought and the Cauvery water crisis, till the first week of November. The extent of loss is expected to increase in the coming days.
The total cultivation area in the district is around 2.5 lakh hectares. Of this, farmers had cultivated sugarcane, paddy, ragi and pulses or oil seeds and commercial crops on around 1.33 lakh hectares.
Standing crops have withered owing to the erratic power supply, depleting groundwater table and suspension of Cauvery water to canals, officials at the Department of Agriculture, Mandya, told The Hindu.
False prediction
Farmers have been asked to take up agricultural activities following the prediction of a “good and above normal monsoon” by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Nevertheless, the prediction proved wrong and subsequently, the decades-old Cauvery water crisis between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu escalated. With no other option left, the State had to discharge water to Tamil Nadu that resulted in the steep fall in the water level of the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS).
Siddaramaiah visit
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah plans to visit Mandya and Ramanagaram, both drought-affected regions, on Wednesday to collect first-hand information on the severity of drought situation. Sources at the district administrations at Mandya and Ramanagaram said the Chief Minister would visit various drought-hit places and hold interactions with farmers.
