VIJAYAWADA: Ministers Nara Lokesh (HRD and IT) and Vangalapudi Anitha (Home and Disaster Management) met Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in New Delhi on Tuesday and briefed him on the extensive agricultural devastation caused by Cyclone Montha.
The Ministers said the cyclone, which struck on October 28 and 29, brought fierce winds, torrential rainfall and flooding that severely affected villages, farmlands and rural livelihoods across the state.
According to the State’s preliminary assessment, the cyclone impacted 3,109 villages across 443 mandals in 24 districts, leaving nearly 9.53 lakh people facing various levels of disruption. The combination of submerged farmlands, overflowing rivers and high tidal activity led to widespread destruction of agricultural assets, civic infrastructure and public services.
Minister Lokesh informed the Union Minister that continuous rainfall and prolonged waterlogging in the coastal and delta regions caused extensive damage to standing crops. Roughly 1.61 lakh hectares of agricultural land-including paddy, maize, cotton, groundnut, red gram and various millets were damaged.
An estimated 3.27 lakh farmers have been affected, while overall crop losses are pegged at 4.36 lakh metric tonnes.
In addition to crop losses, key agricultural infrastructure such as tanks, canals and bund roads suffered significant damage, disrupting irrigation and access to farmlands.
The ministers further apprised the Union Minister that the horticulture sector too bore the brunt of the cyclone. Around 6,250 hectares, over 33% of the horticulture area, under banana, papaya, coconut, turmeric, chillies, vegetables, flowers and other crops were severely damaged.
During the meeting, Minister Nara Lokesh also informed the Union Minister that the State government acted promptly by evacuating vulnerable families, setting up relief camps, deploying SDRF/NDRF teams and conducting rapid loss assessments across departments.