Agriculture Minister K P Mohanan has said that the cabinet will consider the request for distributing relief and financial aid to the farmers of Kuttanad who suffered huge loss owing to flood on Tuesday. He was speaking at a review meeting held at the Collectorate here on Monday.
The minister said that the farmers in Kuttanad have suffered huge loss due to flood. Paddy and other farm products and cattle have been lost in flood. The Minister said that the government has relaxed the clauses in providing pumping subsidy. Earlier, the subsidy was allotted only to the farmers who regularly carried out puncha farming. Now, the government has decided to allot subsidy also to the farmers who made a break in the farming period, he said. The subsidy will be distributed shortly, he said.
At the meeting, Principal Agriculture Officer P K Sajitha said that the district suffered huge loss in flood. “The department has calculated a loss to the tune of Rs 15. 66 crore. The district recorded a record rain in this monsoon. About 2,042 hector of puncha farming was destroyed in flood. About 1,500 hector farming was under water. Bunds collapsed at 21 paddy polders. Nearly 871 hector paddy fields are under water after the bund collapse,” she said.
The Animal Husbandry Department has recorded an estimated loss of Rs 72.33 lakh. Thomas Chandy MLA, Agricultural Department secretary K R Jyothilal, additional director C R Ramesh, Additional District Magistrate K P Thambi and RDO Antony Dominic attend the meeting. Later, the minister visited the flood hit areas in Kuttanad.