Paddy produce likely to be damaged in over 60,000 acres

Guntur / Bapatla: Farmers are afraid that the paddy produce inundated in over 60,000 acres in Bapatla and Guntur districts may likely damage.

The harvested paddy produce was soaked in rainwater in Bapatla district and it will get discoloured. The produce that was left in the fields for drying may likely get spoiled and will start sprouting.

According to sources, paddy produce was inundated in over 50,000 acres in Nizampatnam, Repalle, Bhattirprolu, Karlapalem, Nizampatnam, Cherakupalli, Vemuru and

Bapatla mandals due to lack of drainage facility. As a result, paddy crop soaked in the water for the last couple of days.

In some places, the paddy harvested in agriculture fields is submerged in one to two feet deep water. Some farmers had covered paddy produce left in the fields for drying with plastic sheets.

The paddy produce drenched in water got discoloured and started sprouting at Nandivelugu of Guntur district. Paddy fields spread over 10,000 acres in Ponnuru, Cherbolu, Duggirala and Tenali mandals in Guntur district. According to official sources, crop was inundated in 45,000 to 50,000 acres. Unofficially, it will be more.

A farmer T Venkateswara Rao said, "If rainwater remains in the agriculture fields for another one or two days, paddy produce will be damaged and will get discoloured. Traders will offer less price for damaged paddy stocks. I had cultivated paddy in two and a half acres of land and invested Rs 30,000 per acre. If the crop gets damaged, I will incur heavy losses. Cyclone Mandous changed our fate."

Another farmer from Nandivelugu, T Venkata Rao, said that soaked paddy produce is sprouting. He lamented that he would incur a loss of Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per acre due to crop damage.

Farmer D Srinivasa Rao said that he had cultivated paddy in two acres in Nandivelugu and 50% of paddy produce was damaged. Sprouts are coming from the produce, he added.