Looming cyclone gives jitters to delta farmers

Vijayawada: The farming community across the State especially in Krishna delta is in the grip of fear due to cyclone warning. The kharif paddy is in harvesting stage and this month is crucial period for farmers.

Paddy is cultivated in about 14 lakh acres in Krishna delta alone and the total crop area is around 24 lakh acres across the State. Presently, the low pressure formed in the Bay Bengal is snowballing into cyclonic storm which is likely to hit coastal districts of AP including Nellore. Due to the threat, farming community face dangerous situation.   

According to officials, the Agriculture department warned the farmers to complete the harvesting as early as possible. As per the forecast, the present low pressure situation may take dangerous turn in the next couple of days.

The districts of Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna, West Godavari, East Godavari, Visakha, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam are under cyclone threat. Already the State government’s Real Time Governance Society released a bulletin in this regard and alerted the farmers and fishermen community.

Especially, the farming community is busy with paddy harvesting in the limits of Krishna delta which include Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts along with two Godavari districts. The farmers have enough time to complete the harvesting in the next two days, said Guntur District Agriculture Department Joint Director, M Vijayabharati. 

Speaking to The Hans India, she said that harvesting has been completed only in 40 per cent in several mandals. Now the teams of Agriculture department are giving instructions to farmers to  complete f harvesting before cyclone arrival, she said. 

Paddy is cultivated in 7 lakh acres in Krishna district in kharif season and  half of the farmers are yet to complete harvesting. S Mallikarjuna Rao, a farmer in Valluripalem in Krishna district, said that the farmers are very much worried about the present cyclone conditions. He said that this is the time for paddy harvesting and cyclone will bring major damage to the farmers.