Intermittent heavy showers and rough sea battered parts of Alappuzha on Wednesday.

Waterlogging has been reported from several low-lying areas in the district. People living in coastal areas are on the edge after being hit by high tidal waves.

Officials said they were keeping a close tab on the situation. "As of Wednesday evening, no relief camp was opened in the district. We have already identified buildings, and camps will be opened if the situation arises," said an official.

The inclement weather prevailing for the past few days has stalled the harvesting and procurement of paddy at Edathua, Thalavady, Thakazhi, Mannar, among other places. Farmers said that combined harvesters were getting stuck on fields due to waterlogging.

Besides the rain hampering the crop harvest, disputes between farmers and representatives of mills have resulted in delays in the procurement of harvested paddy. Farmers have alleged that mills were demanding wastage of up to 15 kg a quintal citing high moisture content in the rain-soaked paddy.

Paddy farmers have undertaken rice cultivation in more than 26,000 hectares (ha) spread across 600 padasekharams in the ongoing 'puncha' (first crop) season. Paddy harvest, which got underway in the last week of February, has been completed in more than 90% of the area under cultivation. The Supplyco has so far procured around 96,000 tonnes of paddy from the district.

It is the second time the rain has adversely impacted the paddy cultivation in the district this crop season. In April, the agriculture sector suffered huge losses after heavy downpours battered the region. As per the preliminary assessment, the paddy sector alone incurred a loss of about ₹112 crore after the rain and waterlogging then destroyed standing paddy crops in 6,400 ha.

Earlier, the sowing for 'puncha' season got delayed in several areas due to heavy downpours and floods that lashed the district in October-November last year. As a result, the harvest and procurement of paddy have gone beyond the normal schedule, making the entire process susceptible to summer rain.

Source - https://www.thehindu.com