Floods cost Andhra’s Srikakulam about ₹150 crore; water still stands in Allina’s paddy fields

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A farmer shows paddy damaged by the Nagavali floods in a field at Allina village in Burja mandal of Srikakulam district. | Photo Credit: V. Raju

The floodwater is going down in most of Srikakulam district, but in low-lying villages such as Allina the Nagavali is still standing in the paddy, and farmers who had only a couple of months to go before harvest now fear for their crop.

Crops in Santhabommali, Polaki, Meliaputti, Jalumuru and Burja mandals were inundated by the unprecedented floods in the Vamsadhara, Nagavali, Bahuda and other rivers.

Many areas of Srikakulam district were affected by drought-like conditions because of the deficit of rainfall this year. However, the lands which have water from the canals of major reservoirs are fertile, and the farmers were about to reap the benefits in a couple of months from the crops they cultivated. But their fate changed a couple of days ago with the flash floods, which inundated their standing crops. The farmers, who earn around ₹60,000 per acre, invested around ₹9,500 to ₹15,000 per crop, depending on the soil condition and the fertilisers and seeds used for the crops.

A TDP leader shows crops damaged by the floods at Allina village in Burja mandal of Srikakulam district on Monday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

As per the government estimate, the total loss would be around ₹150 crore due to the floods, which inundated crops and damaged structures in several places.

The farmers of low-lying areas are more worried about the stagnation of Nagavali water in the fields. For instance, Allina village in Burja mandal is completely a low-lying area where paddy in 1,100 acres got damaged. Pativada Bhaskara Rao, a farmer of Allina village, urged the irrigation department to take steps to ensure quick flow of water from the fields. Another farmer, Varada Rambabu, said that crops would get damaged completely if the water stagnation continued for a few more days.

Flash floods in the Nagavali and seasonal streams damaged more than 500 acres of paddy and a causeway at Allina village in Burja mandal of Srikakulam district. Footage from Saturday. Video: V. Raju pic.twitter.com/6b9MbkFO0G

Collector Swapnil Dinakar Pundkar told The Hindu that the standing crops would survive if the farmers followed the instructions of the agriculture scientists. “The senior agriculture scientists from Nagarjuna University, Naira Agriculture College and others will visit the fields and make recommendations to protect the standing crops such as paddy, maize and others. Based on their recommendations, the agriculture teams will organise awareness programmes in affected villages,” he said. “The farmers might have temporary trouble but they will benefit during the rabi season. All reservoirs and barrages are full of water which is sufficient for irrigation and drinking water needs till March 2027,” he added.

MARKFED Director Annepu Ramakrishna Naidu requested the Collector to ensure quick completion of the enumeration so that the farmers would get financial assistance from the government.

A man casts his net over a flooded paddy field near Allina in Burja mandal of Srikakulam district on Saturday, after the Nagavali overflowed. Photo: @Vudimudirajupic.twitter.com/fGxSFDX85l

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