VIJAYAWADA: As many as 69,258 farmers across 1,216 villages in 185 mandals of the State have been affected by crop inundation following torrential downpour under the influence of deep depression over the Bay of Bengal, according to the preliminary report of the Agriculture Department.
However, unofficial reports from North Andhra indicate extensive crop damage, flooding and road connectivity disruptions in several areas.
The department has estimated that 43,802.83 hectares of agricultural crops have been inundated across the downpour affected areas. Paddy accounts for the bulk of the affected crop area, followed by maize, blackgram and cotton.
According to the preliminary assessment, 40,923 hectares of paddy crop, 1,360.2 hectares of maize, 844 hectares of blackgram, and 666.4 hectares of cotton have been inundated.
The affected paddy crop is at various stages, ranging from nursery and transplanting to tillering, panicle emergence or booting, flowering, grain filling and maturity or harvesting.
Maize crop has been affected from the vegetative and silking stages to harvesting, while cotton has been inundated from squaring and flowering to boll development, boll bursting and maturity.
Govt collecting data on damage to various crops
Blackgram crop has been affected from emergence and vegetative growth to flowering and pod development. East Godavari district alone reported 2,435 hectares of inundated crop area, including 2,300 hectares of paddy and 135 hectares of maize.
The Agriculture Department is collecting mandal-wise information on the extent of inundation, number of affected farmers and crop-wise damage. Officials are expected to undertake detailed field verification after the floodwater recedes, and the furnished figures are subject to revision based on subsequent ground-level assessment.
According to information, North Andhra has been among the worst-affected regions, with widespread crop inundation and flooding reported over the past three to four days.
The situation has been particularly severe in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Parvathipuram Manyam and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts, besides Polavaram region.
In Srikakulam, crops in 382 villages across 28 mandals, covering nearly 12,389.56 hectares (28,885 farmers), have been inundated. Several villages in Palakonda, Burja and Laveru mandals have suffered extensive crop damage.
In Vizianagaram, the Nagavali, Janjavathi, Suvarnamukhi and Vegavathi rivers have risen sharply following heavy rains, including rainfall in neighbouring Odisha. Several riverside villages have been marooned, and thousands of acres of farmland submerged.
The Thotapalli, Janjavathi and Madduvalasa projects have reached full reservoir levels, with large volumes of water being released downstream, contributing to flooding along riverbanks and agricultural fields.
About 900 hectares of paddy, 200 acres of banana, cotton and maize crops were damaged in Rajoli mandal of Vizianagaram district.
In Nellimarla mandal, 120 acres of cotton crop was damaged. Cotton, papaya and maize crops in more than 100 acres were damaged in Cheepurupalli mandal. In Alluri Sitarama Raju district, road damage in Chintapalli mandal disrupted connectivity to more than 40 villages.
