Removal of uprooted trees becomes tough task in Srikakulam district

Srikakulam: Removal of uprooted trees due to Titli cyclone has become a big and tough task. More than 10 lakh coconuts, mango, cashew, drumstick, teak and other trees uprooted due to cyclone in all seven Uddanam mandals -  Itchapuram, Kanchili, Kaviti, Sompeta, Mandasa, Palasa and Vajrapukotturu. Removal of uprooted trees from their fields had become a herculean task  to farmers at their own costs.

Chief Minister  N Chandrababu  Naidu assured to remove trees at the cost of government under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) which is Central government scheme.

District Water Resources Management Agency (DWMA) is an  implementing agency at district level which started trees removal. Along with DWMA, state disaster response force (SDRF) and fire department teams are involving in removal of trees. Without removal of trees from the fields it is impossible to start new crop. But lack of proper power cutting machines, earth movers and workers, trees removal process is progressing on slow pace. The process was started only in three mandals and not in all mandals.

‘I lost coconut trees in my four acres extent of land and trees are yet to be removed due to delay I started cutting of trees at my cost’ Bhuvaneswar Panigrahi a farmer of Baruva in Sompeta mandal told The Hans India.

Other farmers, Dunna Gurumurthy, Ramachandra Panigrahi, Anand Panigrahi, Prakash Babu Panigrahi, Teppala Kodanda Ram, M Krishna Veni of Baruva, Baruvapeta, Gollagandi, PalleGollagandi villagers in Sompeta mandal also made similar complaints. Farmers say that they cannot start new crop without removal of trees.

‘We are removing trees phase wise basing on availability of machinery, man power’ project director (PD) of DWMA, Hanumanthu Kurma Rao told The Hans India. We have removed 1.50 lakh trees in Kaviti, Vajrapukotturu and Mandasa mandals out of total damaged 4.50 lakh trees PD added. We will remove trees in other mandals later and another four months time is required for it PD elaborated.