Chouhan vows to stand by farmers of flood-ravaged Khammam district

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan interacts with locals as he takes stock of the crop damage caused by floods, in Khammam district on Friday.
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Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Centre will support the State to bail out farmers hit by recent heavy rains and floods from the present crisis situation.

The Union Minister accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Khammam district on Friday. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageshwara Rao, and Khammam MP R. Raghuram Reddy accompanied him.

The Union Minister visited some agricultural fields in Kusumanchi mandal for a first-hand account of the crop damages. Distraught farmers poured out their woes to the Union Minister showing their damaged crops and mounds of sand piled up in their agricultural fields in the aftermath of the heavy rain-induced flood fury.

Earlier, the Union Minister inspected the damaged Palair main canal and watched a photo exhibition on the devastation wreaked by the heavy rains and floods in Khammam, Palair and Madhira Assembly constituencies.

During his interaction with farmers at Jujjularaopeta village in Kusumanchi mandal, Mr. Chouhan said the trail of destruction caused by the heavy rains and floods in Khammam district is extensive.

When a farmer broke down while narrating the extensive crop loss suffered by him, a visibly moved Mr. Chouhan called him on to the stage to explain his ordeal.

Crops mainly paddy and chilly bore the brunt of nature’s fury, the Union Minister said, adding, “Being a farmer myself, I can understand your plight. Nature’s fury has not only damaged your crops but shattered your hopes of a good harvest.”

“But you should not be let down by the crop loss and the Narendra Modi-led Central government will stand by you at this hour of crisis,” the Union Minister said, asserting that the Central and State governments will work together to find a way out to help the distressed farmers overcome the present crisis. He said the best efforts by the district administration minimised loss of life in the face of the enormity of flood devastation.

The Union Minister hit out at the previous BRS government accusing it of diverting central funds including disaster relief funds under various centrally sponsored schemes. The erstwhile BRS regime also failed to implement the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) during its term thereby depriving distressed farmers of insurance coverage for crops during natural calamities, he charged.

Mr. Bandi Sanjay also spoke.