While Cyclone Hudhud has caused extensive damage to Vizag, with authorities saying that most of the city may have to be rebuilt, farmers in the rural areas of Srikakulam say their losses will be far greater.

Srikakulam is one of the three districts to have faced the effect of cyclone Hudhud in a big way. In the town that serves as the district headquarters, a few trees have uprooted, the electricity is totally off, but otherwise, things seem fine.

But just a few kilometres away, in rural Srikakulam, farmer Mohan shows us his paddy crop, almost totally flattened by Hudhud. He spent Rs. 24,000 per acre for the crop, his land measures to about 15 acres. "I can salvage a maximum of 25 per cent of this crop. Please give a favourable report. It will help me get compensation," says Mohan as we leave.

Another few metres away, Ramesh is counting his losses at his banana plantation, another major crop on this area. All the banana trees at his plantation have uprooted, unripe bananas have fallen to the ground. Ramesh says, "this is a major crop in Srikakulam. I don't know what to do now. Nothing is left."

Sugarcane, another big crop in the area, has suffered too, with most sugarcane fields flattened by Hudhud.

The Andhra Pradesh government is assessing the damage to the state due to the cyclone, but farmers in rural areas of coastal Andhra Pradesh hope the government's efforts will not be limited to Vizag alone.

Source - http://www.ndtv.com/