VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday directed the Civil Supplies Department to initiate immediate measures to procure paddy that got wet due to unseasonal rains that lashed the State for the past few days.
Taking stock of the rains in the State and the resulting crop loss at a teleconference with district collectors on Wednesday, the Chief Minister directed the officials to take steps to save the harvested crop on a priority basis. The officials were instructed to shift the harvested paddy from the fields to warehouses and other government buildings. The agriculture officials should complete the enumeration of crop damage at the earliest, he said.
The Chief Minister was informed that as per his directions, each district collector has been allocated `1 crore for the purpose of shifting paddy to warehouses and steps are being taken to prepare crop loss reports to provide input subsidy to affected farmers. At the same time, expert opinion from agriculture scientists is being taken to advise farmers on how to protect the standing crops.
Through Markfed, measures have been taken to procure maize and once the rains subside, seeds for various crops will be distributed to farmers for the next crop, they said. Andhra Pradesh, which has been witnessing continuous rains for the past week, is likely to experience more rains, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting the formation of a cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal in the second week of May.
A cyclonic circulation is likely to develop over the Southeast Bay of Bengal around May 6. Under its influence, a low-pressure area is likely to form over the same region around May 7. It is likely to concentrate into a depression over the Southeast Bay of Bengal on May 8. Thereafter, there is a possibility of its intensification while moving nearly northwards towards the Central Bay of Bengal.
Meanwhile, heavy rains lashed different parts of the State on Wednesday. In the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Wednesday, Piduguralla in Palnadu district recorded the highest rainfall of 8 cm, followed by Mangalagiri in Guntur and Owk in Nandyal with 5 cm.
As per the real-time data from APSDPS, Biccavolu in East Godavari district received the highest rainfall of 9.5 cm, followed by Haripuram in Srikakulam with 9 cm, Ghantasala in Krishna with 8 cm and Palasa in Srikakulam with 7.6 cm. Thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and gusty winds with a speed of 40-50 kmph are likely at isolated places over coastal districts and thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and gusty winds with a speed of 30-40 kmph at isolated places over Rayalaseema, said IMD.
Vijayawada experienced light to moderate rain intermittently on Wednesday exposing the shortcomings of newly laid roads at a few places in the city, where rainwater got stagnated forming cesspools. With the mercury level down, people heaved a sigh of relief.
The unseasonal rains have affected both horticulture and agriculture crops and farmers are in distress. The agriculture department advised the farmers, who have not harvested their crops to wait for one more week till the rains subside. They are waiting for the rains to subside to conduct a full-scale enumeration of crop loss.