HYDERABAD: Heavy rains have delivered a big blow to cotton farmers in the State. According to preliminary estimates, cotton crop in nearly six lakh acres have been damaged.
As the cotton, which is currently in picking condition, drenched in rainwater, even those farmers who were lucky enough to protect their crops would face a setback as the quality of the produce will be affected, as a result of which it may not fetch much revenue to them, sources told Express. Almost the entire of the standing crop got damaged in Khammam, Mahbubnagar and Medak districts. Though several paddy fields were also submerged, if the water recedes in the next two days, the produce will survive.
In erstwhile Mahbubnagar, crops were damaged in around 70,000 acres. In erstwhile Khammam district, standing crops like paddy, cotton, maize and soya in around one lakh acre was damaged.
Meanwhile, paddy in 16,673 acres and cotton in 10,015 acres were damaged in Jangaon. In Mahabubabad district, paddy in 2,590 acres and cotton in 1,635 acres also got drowned.
While paddy in 9,417 acres and cotton in 2,503 acres were damaged in Warangal (Urban), paddy in 5,671 acres, cotton in 55,438 acres and red gram in 298 acres got drowned in Warangal (Rural).
In Sangareddy district, cotton in around one lakh acres got drowned in the floodwater. In Medak district, cotton in 44,000 acres and paddy in 29,987 acres were damaged.
And in Siddipet district, cotton in 50,000 acres and other crops in 20,000 acres were damaged in the heavy rains.
In Nalgonda district, paddy in 39,862, cotton in 27,795 and other crops in 50 acres were damaged. In Suryapet, paddy in 26,310 acres and other crops in 2,230 acres were damaged.When contacted, Agriculture Secretary B Janardhan Reddy said that the actual figures of crop damage would be known only after the enumeration was completed.