Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was in Kalaburagi to participate in the Kalyana Karnataka Utsav, visited Farhatabad village in Kalaburagi taluk on September 17 to inspect the damage caused to crops by the recent spell of heavy rains.

The Chief Minister inspected the 27.23-acre farm land belonging to farmers Channabasappa and Suryakant (Survey No. 50), where a tur crop had been completely destroyed.

The farmers explained that despite re-sowing the crop for the third time, rains had destroyed the entire crop.

"Had the crop survived, we would have harvested at least 5-6 bags of tur per acre," one of the farmers told Mr. Siddaramaiah.

Joint Director of Agriculture Department Samad Patel briefed the Chief Minister about the extent of crop loss in the area.

Speaking to mediapersons later, Mr. Siddaramaiah said compensation would be released after a joint survey report was submitted. "We awaiting the report," he added.

A delegation led by Sidramappa Dhangapur, president of the District Farmers' Association, urged the Chief Minister to announce relief from the State Government in addition to the NDRF compensation, and to provide subsidy to farmers for rabi sowing.

The Chief minister was accompanied by his cabinet colleague RDPR Minister and Kalaburagi In-charge Priyank Kharge, KKRDB Chairperson Ajay Singh, Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Taranum, Police Commissioner Sharanappa S. Dhage, Zilla Panchayat CEO Bhanwar Singh Meena, and other senior officials,

Provide adequate relief to farmers

Before visiting the affected areas, Mr. Siddaramaiah met district-level officials at the Aiwan-E-Shahi guest house and gathered information regarding the crop damage due to heavy rains.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met officials regarding damage to crops due to continuous heavy rains in Bidar, Kalaburagi, Koppal and Yadgir districts, before visiting the affected areas. | Photo Credit: TH

He instructed district authorities to provide adequate relief to farmers for the crop loss. "Ensure that all the distressed farmers get 100% relief for crop damage in the same manner as provided for human and animal loss," Mr. Siddaramaiah instructed officials.

KKRDB Chairperson Ajay Singh informed that the district received 17% more rainfall than last year. Districts including Bidar, Kalaburagi ,Yadgir and Koppal are most severely affected due to excess rainfall, officials said.

RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge explained that incessant rain for the past few weeks was hindering survey of crop damage. It was difficult to complete the joint survey within the stipulated period. Once the rain subsides, officials will resume the joint survey to assess the damage to crops, which may take an additional 10 days to complete.

The officials displayed footage of crop damage surveys carried out using drone cameras.

Karnataka CM visits rain-affected areas in Kalaburagi, interacts with distressed farmers