3,500 hectares of crop destroyed in TN due to heavy rains

Chennai, Nov 11 (IANS) Heavy showers for the past few days in Tamil Nadu have inundated around 55,000 hectares of land, of which, crops in 3,500 hectares have been destroyed.

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister K. K. S. S. R. Ramachandran while speaking to IANS, said: "Around 3500 hectares of crop has been damaged and this will affect us. However, we have to study in detail to arrive at the total loss and how it will impact the farmers. Compensation and other factors would be decided in the coming days once the rain and winds settle down."

With the huge volume of crops destroyed by heavy rains, the vegetable supply to neighbouring states like Kerala has also been jeopardised.

Sources from Tamil Nadu farmers association told IANS: "There is a dip in supply of vegetables to Kerala and according to a rough estimate the supply has been affected by more than 60 per cent. How these losses can be recovered is a million-dollar question."

The Tamil Nadu farmers who were looking to recoup losses after the second wave of the Covid pandemic, are now staring at an uncertain future.

Talking to IANS, Secretary of vegetable farmers association in Chengalpattu, Selva Ganapathy, said: "The farmers of Tamil Nadu were slowly looking up after the pandemic but now the sudden rains have thrashed all our expectations. We are now staring at huge debts and don't know when we will get some meager compensation. The Revenue Minister has already stated that the government would assess the damage to the crops after the rains settle down and we are expecting that the government would compensate us in a better manner."

Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin has announced that his government would support and take care of all the people who have been impacted by the torrential rain.