TUMAKURU: Tumakuru district has suffered crop loss worth an estimated Rs 159 crore due to deficient monsoon, dry weather and low soil moisture, Deputy Commissioner Subha Kalyan informed the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) that visited the district on Saturday to assess the drought situation.
At a meeting with the Central team at the zilla panchayat, the DC said all 10 taluks in the district has been declared drought-hit. Against the normal southwest monsoon rainfall of 348 mm between June and September, the district received only 184 mm, recording a 47 per cent deficit.
There are 5,15,603 farmers in the district and the normal sown area is 3,11,657 hectares. However, only 2,19,935 hectares, or 72 per cent, could be sown due to the rainfall deficit.
The crops that were sown were affected by the drought, with plants withering or failing to flower in time. Ragi and groundnut are among the major crops whose yields have been adversely affected, she explained. The district administration has submitted a proposal estimating crop damage affecting 1,92,128 hectares, the DC said.
Officials from the revenue, agriculture and horticulture departments, along with gram panchayat officials, took the IMCT members to the fields and explained the extent of crop damage, reduced yields, drinking water shortages and declining groundwater levels in borewells. The Central team inspected drought-hit ragi, maize and groundnut fields, irrigation crops, dry lakes and wells in Tumakuru and Koratagere taluks, and interacted with farmers and villagers.
The team reviewed drinking-water availability, successful and failed borewells and VB-G RAM G works, and discussed alternative water sources and drought-relief measures with officials and residents.
The IMCT comprised Ajit Kumar Sahu, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Lt Col Amarinder Singh of NITI Aayog and J Harsha, Director, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.