ANANTAPUR: District Collector Dasari Kadmial has said that severe drought conditions are prevailing in the district due to prolonged dry spell and poor rainfall.

Rain-fed crops cultivated in 4.71 lakh hectares, mostly groundnut, would be completely damaged if the dry spell continued, he feared. He said the district administration had prepared a contingency plan for cultivating alternative crops and it had been sent to the Government for approval.

Against the normal rainfall of 67 mm in July, the actual rain was 21 mm and it was 6.6 mm in August against the month's normal of 89 mm. Alternative crop plan

An alternative crop plan was prepared for 3.75 lakh hectares and the Government had agreed to supply the required seed with 50 per cent subsidy. Crops like red gram, jowar, pearl millet, green gram and horse gram were suitable for 2.61 lakh hectares of red soil and jowar, sunflower and Bengal gram could be taken up in another 1.14 lakh hectares of black soil, he said.

The dry spell was threatening the availability of fodder this year. Some 14.4 lakh tonnes of fodder was available in the district now and it would be exhausted by September-end.

Centre apprised

Besides, the Government had already written to the Union Agriculture Ministry to extend the last date for payment of premium for crop insurance scheme from August 31 to September 30 as sowing was still not completed in a large extent.

Bio-diesel plantations would be taken up in 10,000 acres in the event of rain and 18.88 lakh pits had been readied for the purpose, he added.

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