HANAMKONDA/JANGAON/MAHABUBABAD: The Saturday midnight hailstorm at several places in the erstwhile Warangal district played havoc with mango crop in about 5,280 acres, leaving farmers in a state of distress.
Different varieties of mangoes are exported to Australia, the USA and other countries. But unseasonal rains, winds and hailstorms have badly damaged the mango crop. As a result, mango farmers are staring at a huge loss.
A major loss of mango crop was witnessed in Hasanparthy, Bheemadevarpalli, Dharmasagar, Velair, Parkal and Kamalapur mandals in Hanamkonda district; Bachannapet, Raghunathpalli and Lingala Ghanpur mandals in Jangaon district; and Kothaguda mandal in Mahabubabad district.
TNIE has obtained a preliminary report on the extent of the damage prepared by the Horticulture department officials of Hanamkonda, Jangaon and Mahabubabad districts. According to the report, 3,548 acres of mango crop have been damaged in the hailstorm in the Mahabubabad district, 500 acres in the Hanamkonda district and 1,232 acres in the Jangaon district.
The sudden hailstorm on Saturday night spelled doom for the farmers who were harvesting the paddy, mango, and maize crops in the three districts. The farmers arrived at the Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP) centres in their respective villages with their Yasangi paddy harvest.
But in the sudden burst of hailstorm, the paddy was washed away and many bags soaked in rainwater, rendering them worthless. As a result, the district administration is delaying the purchase of paddy at the procurement centres.
Meanwhile, gales uprooted several trees and electric poles in Bachannapet, Lingala Ghanpur in Jangaon district and Kothagudem mandal in Mahabubabad district. The traffic came to a standstill for hours.
Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao assured all help to the farmers. He stated that it’s a huge loss to the hard-working farmers. The government will take care of the farmers. He directed the authorities to make available tarpaulins and gunny bags at all grain procurement centres.
Trees, power poles uprooted
Gales also uprooted several trees and electric poles in Bachannapet, Lingala Ghanpur in Jangaon district and Kothagudem mandal in Mahabubabad district. The traffic came to a standstill for hours at several places. Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao assured all help to the farmers. He said that the government will take care of the farmers. He also directed the authorities to make available tarpaulins and gunny bags at all grain procurement centres.
KCR seeks report on crop damage
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday directed Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari to take up the assessment of crop damage immediately. The CM asked the Chief Secretary to speak to the District Collectors and get detailed reports on crop damage at the earliest.
Crop loss in Karimnagar
Karimnagar: The hailstorm also damaged crops in Karimnagar Rural, Choppdandi, Gangadhara and Huzurabad mandals. Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar, along with Additional Collector and agriculture authorities visited the affected fields in several villages in Karimnaga Rural mandal, including Chamanapalli, Taher Kondapur and Fakirpet and assured all help to the distressed farmers. He said that the government will also procure paddy socked in rainwater to make parboiled rice.