Kakinada: Unseasonal rain accompanied by gales and thunderstorms lashed the Godavari districts on Sunday, claiming the life of a tenant farmer and causing widespread crop damage.
Pennada Arjuna Rao (60), a tenant farmer from G. Ragampeta village, died after being struck by lightning while covering a paddy heap near Bhimeswara Swamy temple in Samalkot. He was rushed to the government hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Heavy rain and strong winds uprooted trees at several places, disrupted power supply for hours and inundated agricultural fields. Farmers, particularly mango growers, suffered losses as crops fell to the ground.
Many farmers had begun harvesting paddy or drying heaps along roadsides when the sudden rain damaged the crop. Tenant farmer Y. Rambabu said fields were inundated, delaying harvest by at least a week and raising fears of further losses.
Tourism minister Kandula Durgesh visited affected areas and assured farmers that the government would procure paddy even if it was wet. He, however, advised farmers to adopt modern cultivation methods to mitigate such losses. Farmers expressed concern that higher moisture levels could affect procurement, but the minister said the government would purchase every bag.
In Konaseema district, rainfall touched 442.2 mm with a district average of 23.4 mm. Katrenikona recorded the highest rainfall at 87.2 mm, while Mamidikuduru received 1.8 mm. A tree uprooted near Kandriga village in Kothapeta mandal disrupted traffic for an hour before officials cleared the road.
Kakinada district recorded 85.4 mm of rainfall, with a district average of 4.1 mm. District agriculture officer N. Vijaya Kumar said no major crop damage was reported in the district.
In West Godavari, weather remained cloudy with mild rain reported in parts of Palakollu. Civil supplies corporation district manager Md Ibrahim advised farmers to protect harvested produce, warning of more rain over the next two days. He said 2,000 tarpaulins were available for farmers and urged them to shift produce to Rythu Seva Kendras to prevent moisture damage.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
