Crop damage in 25 lakh acre: CM

Vijayawada, Nov 7 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today said the total crop damage in five flood-hit districts was estimated in 25 lakh acre.

Addressing a press meet with Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil at Gannavaram Airport, he said of the 25 lakh acre, about 10 lakh acre paddy crop was damaged at an estimated loss of Rs 1600 crore.

He said during the past week there was heavy rain in Krishna Delta and less rain in Godavari Delta, following which farmers and people were badly affected.

The Chief Minister said deaths in the flood-hit districts were less compared to the cyclone in Diviseema in 1977 when thousands of people lost their lives. However, the property loss was extremely high in these districts, he observed.

He said Mr Patil could not visit Prakasam District today as he had to rush back to Delhi, having to meet a visiting Chinese delegation.

Dr Reddy urged the Home Minister to provide aid much higher than the Rs 200 crore announced under the Natural Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCR) during the floods in the Godavari a few months back.

He said the modernisation of the Krishna and Godavari Deltas should be taken up immediately with an amount of Rs 5000 crore each to save villages from inundation during rains and floods.

Drains had to be repaired, widened and lined so that water would flow freely even if there was 25 per cent excess rainfall.

He attributed large scale inundation of farm lands to the drainage system, that had outlived its utility, having been built 160 years ago.

UNI CS RL HT1850