Rs 208 crore crop damage estimated in Pune
Times of India: Preliminary estimates by the agriculture department have revealed that heavy rains between November 9 and 12 caused damage worth Rs 207.86 crore to crops on 75,363 hectares of land in Pune district. The rains were a result of cyclone Phyan.
Till date, the district has reported sowing for kharif and rabi season on 6,64,100 hectares, said Ravindra Bhosle, district superintending agriculture officer.
The state government has issued instructions to the district and local agricultural officers to assess the damage caused due to the rains. Pune district completed its primary report on Tuesday, which will be submitted to the state government for the cabinet meeting rescheduled for Thursday from the earlier date of November 18. The meeting will discuss the damage to crops and is expected to take a concrete decision on providing financial assistance to the affected farmers.
Bhosle said, “The heavy downpour severely affected the rice and grape crops in the district. The primary report for Pune district is divided into two categories. The first category includes farms where more than 50 per cent of the crop is damaged, while the second category comprises farms where crop damage is less than 50 per cent.” As many as 1,45,254 farmers were affected due to the cyclonic effect, he added.
As per the statistics compiled by the department, crops in 41,900 hectares have suffered more than 50 per cent damage while crops in 33,462 hectares have reported less than 50 per cent damage, Bhosle said.
Sharad Dorge, deputy district superintending agriculture officer, said, “Talukas like Velha, Bhor, Maval, Mulshi, and some parts of Junnar and Khed which are close to the western ghat (Sahyadri ranges), have reported more losses than talukas like Shirur, Daund, Purandar, Baramati and Indapur.” The damage assessment of multi-crop areas like Baramati and Indapur is complicated and is expected to delay the compilation of a detailed damage report, he explained.
While a majority of the crops have been damaged severely, only sugarcane did not suffer more than 50 per cent damage. There was very little plantation of sugarcane during the kharif season and the area that has suffered damage is not very huge, he said.
State agriculture minister Balasaheb Thorat said, “The damage to mango, coconut and grape farms is difficult to assess as the initial years after plantation give no income to farmers. Hence, there is a viewpoint that compensation should be calculated considering loss of coming years. Last year, when mango orchards were affected, the government calculated the loss as the loss spread over the next 3-5 years and compensation was offered accordingly.”
Thorat said that during his earlier tenure as agriculture minister coconut farms never suffered damages hence the government did not have to estimate them. “But this year, some damage is reported so the government will initiate the process to form a method to calculate such losses,” he added.
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