Central panel studies crop loss

Kurnool: The members of the Central team made a whirlwind visit in the district on Wednesday to assess the crop loss and damaged roads due to the recent heavy rains that lashed the district in October and November 2017.

The team members comprising Dharam Vith, Director of the Union Ministry of Rural Development; Dheena Nath, FCD Consultant in the Finance Department; and Rambabu, Director in the Central Commission for Water and Rivers have inspected the damaged roads and the withered crops like cotton, black gram and groundnut crops at Muthukur village in Aspari mandal and Krishnapuram village in Kodumur mandal.

They also interacted with the farmers, who have suffered crop loss. Earlier, the panel members met several district officials at the government guest house in the city where District Collector S Satyanarayana briefed about the damage caused by rains. The crops raised in an extent of 2.5 lakh hectares was completely washed away, Satyanarayana informed the Central team.

The district administration submitted a detailed report to the members of the Central panel. The officials requested the Central team to impress upon the Centre for sanctioning compensation to those farmers, who suffered crop loss. Meanwhile, the team members also went around a photo exhibition to know the extent of crop loss and damages to roads.

The team leader Dharam Vith said the panel studied everything about crop loss and damages to roads and scarcity of water for irrigation and drinking needs. Vith said that they would submit the report to the Central government.