20,000 acres of paddy damaged in rains in TN's delta districts

The heavy rains that lashed Tamil Nadu's delta districts,  including Thanjavur and Tiruvarur, in the past two days have led to a crop loss of around 20,000 acres of paddy and 1,000 acres of black gram, officials said on Monday.

Agriculture Department officials told IANS that a detailed study on the exact crop loss is on but on an estimated study it was found that 20,000 acres of Samba paddy, 1,000 acres of black gram, and groundnuts were destroyed in the heavy rains.

Farmers said that about 500 acres of Samba paddy crop in the Pudukottai district were also affected and lost in rains during the past two days.

The officials also said that around 50,000 tonnes of paddy that was procured and stocked in an open stockyard of the Tamil Nadu State Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) at Sannapuram near Kumbakonam were also affected.

The CPI has called for immediate action against the errant officials. 

"How can officials be this callous? We strongly recommend the government take immediate action against these erring officers of the TNCSC against the loss of paddy by being wetted. 50,000 tonnes of paddy was procured by the TNCSC from farmers and stored openly leading to the drenching in water... it has to be seen how it could be used. Most of the procured paddy wetted by rainwater is lost," CPI Kumbakonam North district Secretary, M.A. Bharathi, told IANS. 

However, TNCSC officials said that all the paddy that was wetted is not damaged and that it would be taken to rice mills for hulling while covers would be put in open stockyard to prevent any further wetting in rains.