The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Crop loss in State put at Rs. 800 crore

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Thursday, Apr 10, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Crop loss in State put at Rs. 800 crore

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: The crop loss on account of the recent unseasonable rain in the State has been estimated at Rs. 800 crore.

A three-member team led by Ramesh Abhishek, Joint Secretary, Union Home Department, assessed crop damage in Dharwad, Gadag, Bijapur and Belgaum districts on Tuesday and retuned to Bangalore on Wednesday.

The team met Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao and held a high-level meeting with Principal Secretaries of Agriculture, Home, Revenue, Horticulture and Finance Departments and sought clarifications on some issues.

Report

The team is expected to submit its report to the Union Home Ministry next week recommending relief to the State.

Mr. Abhishek and Union Finance Department Deputy Secretary Mithilesh assessed the extent of crop damage in Dharwad and Gadag districts while Oilseeds Development Corporation Director D.N. Gurumukhi visited Bijapur and Belgaum districts and estimated the crop damage.

According to Revenue Department officials, standing crops on nearly two lakh hectares of land had been damaged on account of unseasonable rain two weeks ago in several districts. Crops such as chilli, cotton, jowar, paddy, and grape had been affected and the farmers suffered huge losses in Belgaum, Bijapur and Gadag districts, the officials said.

The team was fully convinced about the State Government’s demand. Since the election model of code conduct does not come in the way of undertaking relief works, the Government would implement relief measures as soon as the Centre releases the amount, the officials said.

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