Kerala - Kottayam   

Paddy loss put at Rs.5.39 crore

KOTTAYAM: Paddy cultivation in 133 ‘padasekharams’ spread over 4,487.67 hectares in the district has been completely destroyed in the summer rain as per preliminary reports, Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran has said.

He was reviewing the situation in the district on Saturday.

The loss has been estimated at Rs.5.39 crore. The loss to other vegetables and crops is being assessed, Agriculture Department officials told Mr. Ratnakaran.

Mr. Ratnakaran said the possibility of distributing financial assistance to farmers through their bank accounts was being looked into.

A district-level committee under the Collector has been formed to oversee the relief operations. Representatives of Agriculture, Civil Supplies, Irrigation and Revenue departments and the Kerala State Electricity Board will be members of the committee.

C.F. Thomas, Thomas Chazhikkadan, V.N. Vasavan, K. Ajith, all MLAs; district panchayat president Thomas Kunnappally, District Collector Sharmila Mary Joseph and other officials were present at the meeting.

Earlier, Mr. Ratnakaran said the agriculture loss so far owing to heavy rain that continued to lash the State had crossed Rs.82 crore as per preliminary estimates. He was speaking to mediapersons after a visit to the rain-affected ‘padasekharams’ in the district.

Mr. Ratnakaran said the government was reviewing the situation on a daily basis, but was faced with an unprecedented situation as the rain continued unabated. A comprehensive report will be compiled by Monday, he said.

Responding to a question, Mr. Ratnakaran said the government was expecting financial assistance from the Centre by Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting will take a final decision on the course of action to be taken, he said.

He said there would not be any delay once the decision on financial assistance was taken. The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) had been asked to procure the entire paddy irrespective of its quality and it had also been decided to use the low-quality paddy as fodder.

Mr. Ratnakaran said the government was concerned about the impact of the current crisis in the paddy sector in the long run as it had started raining in other rice producing States too. This could affect the availability of rice in the coming days, he said.

Mr. Ratnakaran who visited the J-Block Kayal was accompanied by V.N. Vasavan, MLA; Communist Party of India leader V.B. Binu, the District Collector and other officials.

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