Crops across nearly 1.35 lakh hectares of land have been damaged due to floods in several parts of Vidarbha region, said Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who visited the flood-hit districts of Wardha and Chandrapur on Tuesday. Farmers are likely to incur additional financial burden due to incessant rain in the last seven days, he said.

Late in the evening, he convened a meeting in Nagpur to review the situation in the region. Of the 11 districts in Vidarbha region, at least three districts – Gadchiroli, Wardha, Chandrapur — are reeling under heavy rain.

Speaking to the media in Nagpur, Fadnavis said, “Preliminary report shows crop loss across 1.35 lakh hectares in the region. It is possible to sow only 40 to 45 per cent of second crop.”

Fadnavis, who had visited Gadchiroli last week, said, “There is no connectivity in several remote villages in the district.”

While directing district authorities to conduct panchanamas to ascertain the extend of crop damage due to floods, Fadnavis said, “It seems the rain pattern has changed in the last few years. Monsoon continues till mid-September. The administration will have to come up with a concrete plan to tackle the prolonged monsoon.”
Reiterating his government’s commitment to financially compensate farmers who have suffered due to floods, Fadnavis said, “Unfortunately, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government failed to compensate the farmers for crop loss in the last two-and-a-half years. During my tour, I received complaints from farmers who told me they were still awaiting the crop loss compensation due to them.”

He said along with current crop loss assessment, the pending compensation will also be factored in while extending help to farmers.

Source - https://indianexpress.com