Telangana’s Minister for Finance and Siddipet MLA, T Harish Rao visited paddy farmers who reported huge losses due to a hailstorm on Thursday in Siddipet district. The Minister met the farmers on Friday at their paddy fields in Komuravelli and Nanganur mandals.
Unseasonal hailstorms wreaked havoc on Thursday, damaging standing crops of paddy, leaving farmers in distress. Other crops such as maize and banana were also affected.
Speaking to farmers, Harish Rao said, “In several places, there was major damage to crops due to the untimely rain. Officials from the agriculture and revenue departments are collecting details pertaining to the loss in the respective fields. We will definitely bring the matter to the chief minister’s notice, and we assure help as the damage occurred in the final stage of the cultivation,” he said.
He added that the hailstorm has caused massive distress at a time when farmers were ready to sell the crop. According to Harish Rao, the state has cultivated around 50 lakh acres of paddy. Assistance given as part of the Rythu Bandhu scheme boosted farmers, he said.
At Thimmayipalli of Nangunuru, he interacted with a woman farmer who lost her crop due to hailstorm.
- అధైర్య పడొద్దు.. ఆదుకుంటాం.
— Harish Rao News (@TrsHarishNews) April 10, 2020
కొమరవెల్లి మండలం గౌరాయపల్లిలో వడగండ్ల వానతో నష్టపోయిన బాధిత రైతులను మంత్రి @trsharish గారు కలిసి పరామర్శించారు. అధైర్య పడొద్దని, ప్రభుత్వం ఆదుకుంటుందని భరోసా కల్పించడం జరిగింది. pic.twitter.com/NXiQNkxTz7
నియోజకవర్గంలోని నంగునూరు మండలం తిమ్మాయిపల్లిలో వడగండ్ల వానతో చేతికొచ్చిన పంట నేల పాలై నష్టపోయిందని గోడు వెలిబుచ్చి బోరున విలపించిన రైతులు. బాధితులకు ధైర్యం చెప్పి, ప్రభుత్వం తరపున ఆదుకుంటామని మంత్రి @trsharish గారు భరోసా కల్పించడం జరిగింది. pic.twitter.com/IfNM1TcTEN
— Harish Rao News (@TrsHarishNews) April 10, 2020
Harish Rao directed the officials to ensure that farmers who have insured crops get the claimed amount.
In several places, crops were kept ready for procurement and paddy farmers were ready to cut their crops and move them to procurement centres, but they have now been damaged. As many as 7,700 procurement centres have been set up across the state by the government to ease procurement due to the lockdown.
Apart from paddy, the hailstorm damaged maize and banana plantations in several mandals in Bhadradri-Kothagudem. Mango crops in Mahbubnagar were destroyed, paddy farmers were affected in Nalgonda, and several tenant farmers from Aliar's Kolanupaka lamented that they had suffered huge losses due to the hailstorm.
While paddy is being given at Rs 1,835 per quintal, Bengal gram was assured of Rs 4,875 per quintal and Rs 5,650 for sunflower (oilseed crop) as Minimum Support Price (MSP).