Telangana floods: Standing crop in one lakh acres land in Khammam damaged

Heavy rains that lashed erstwhile Khammam district recently and floods in the Godavari river in August have severely affected the livelihood of thousands of farmers.
Representational image (File photo| EPS)
Representational image (File photo| EPS)

KHAMMAM: Heavy rains that lashed erstwhile Khammam district recently and floods in the Godavari river in August have severely affected the livelihood of thousands of farmers. It is learnt that standing crops in around 1,16,000 acres have been damaged since August.

While around 31,000 acres of paddy, chilli and cotton got damaged in the Godavari floods during August, standing crops in around 85,000 acres got washed in the incessant rains that battered the district recently.

Meanwhile, though the Agriculture Department officials have already carried out a field survey to assess crop loss and sent a detailed report to State government, there has not been any response from the higher authorities yet. 

When Express spoke to a few distressed farmers, they shared their plight and expressed hope that the State government would soon release compensation amounts. K Valya, a tribal farmer of Julurpad village in Kothagudem district, said that he had cultivated cotton in three acres, of which one acre belonged to him and the remaining two acres were taken on lease. 

"The rains shattered my dreams. The entire standing crop got inundated. I started cultivation by taking a loan of `40,000 this season. Now, I am left with nothing. I request the government to lend a helping hand, or else I and my family would be left with no other option but to kill ourselves," the distressed farmer said.

Kunja Subhadra, a woman farmer of Cherla mandal, said holding her tears: "What sin did we commit to face such a situation. Why is the god angry with us." Subhadra's standing paddy in around one acre got washed away in the recent heavy rains. 

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