Preliminary report sent to AP govt

Vijayawada: Krishna district incurred losses to the tune of Rs 70 crore due to heavy rains and floods which lashed the mandals in western Krishna in the third week of this month. The district administration prepared the preliminary report and sent to the government.

Speaking to the media at the camp office here on Sunday, Collector B Lakshmikantham said there was no human loss due to the precautionary measures taken by the district administration during the floods and heavy rains.

He said teams will visit the mandals for the enumeration of crop loss suffered by the farmers due to heavy rains and inundation of crops. The loss was caused due to inundation of crops and damage of infrastructure. 

He said cultivation of crops reached the record level this kharif season with crop area of 3.25 lakh hectares in the district. He said due to the low pressure formed over the Bay of Bengal several times this season, the district registered heavy rainfall which helped the paddy crop.

He said irrigated dry crops and other crops like chilli, turmeric were destroyed. Lakshmikantham said: “Still there is a chance to restore the paddy crops, which were inundated in the rain waters”, he added.

He said the district suffered loss of Rs.70 crore due to rains and floods. He said the district administration has asked the state government to sanction Rs.50 crore to repair the damaged roads. He said four 33 KV sub-stations were affected but repaired very soon. Similarly, 11 kv lines damaged due to floods were also repaired immediately, he added.

He hoped Krishna district may get bumper harvest this Kharif season and will get the first rank in the per capita income in the country among 694 districts. He said the Krishna district is currently ranked second after Haryana in the per capita income and may reach top position with bumper harvest by October/November.

He said crops in the district may get more wettings as the rainy season would continue till October/November 2018. Referring to anemia, he said the district administration is trying to make it free from anemia as measures are being to supply highly nutrient fortified rice to the schools for mid-day meals and anganwadi centres. He said vitamin deficiency can be prevented by supplementing the fortified rice.