Central team assesses drought damage to crops in Hassan
An inter-ministerial Central team visited drought-hit farms in Hassan taluk to assess damage to maize, ragi and coconut yields. Farmers told officials that failed rains had destroyed crops, with some maize failing to produce grain and the remaining plants reportedly unsuitable even as cattle fodder. The team will visit two more taluks.
An inter-ministerial Central team visited drought-affected farms in Hassan taluk on Saturday to assess the impact of failed rains on crops and farm livelihoods. The team, headed by Sudam Bag, Deputy Commissioner in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying in New Delhi, inspected maize fields and met farmers in Dudda, Kittinakere, Gowripura, Chikkakadaluru and neighbouring villages. At Dudda, officials visited the farms of Javarayya and Dyavamma and gathered details about losses to maize and ragi, as well as the effect on coconut yields.
They also spoke to Prashanth Kumar, a dairy farmer in the village. Farmers told the team that their crops had been wiped out because the rains failed. They said maize had not developed grain and that the remaining plants were not suitable even for use as cattle fodder.
Hassan Lok Sabha member Shreyas Patel met the team and briefed its members on the hardship caused by the drought in the district. Senior district officials accompanying the delegation included Deputy Commissioner K.S. Lathakumari, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Shubham Shukla and heads of various departments.
Other members of the Central team were Ashish Pandey, Deputy Adviser in the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation; Pradeep Kumar, Under Secretary in the Department of Food and Public Distribution; and Karan Chaudhar, Deputy Director at the Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre in the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The team is scheduled to visit parts of Arasikere and Holenarsipur taluks on Sunday. The source material does not state whether financial assistance has been approved, quantify the crop losses or give a timetable for a report.
The field visits are intended to provide officials with direct accounts of the drought’s effects on crops, livestock-related livelihoods and farm incomes in Hassan district.
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