Belagavi: Having suffered great losses due to the recent floods, the farmers in Belagavi poured out their woes before the central team that had visited the district on Tuesday, September 8, to assess the damages caused by the recent floods.
The farmers who met the team members during their visit tried to inform them about their losses and sought adequate relief from the government.
It can be recalled that the central team is in Karnataka, to assess the damages in the districts that were badly hit by the heavy rains and the subsequent floods this year. The team was sent to the state after requests made by the Karnataka Government.
The central team, that arrived in the state on September 7, will be visiting all the flood-hit districts today and will be meeting with the Cabinet Ministers tomorrow. They will then be submitting a report to the Central Government.
“I was earning at least Rs 3 lakh from an acre of land by cultivating carrots. But the floods have washed away all of my crops. What should I do? How should I cover this loss?” asked one of the farmers from the Hosur village, Hukkeri taluk.
Farmers from the Ingali village showed their maize crop which was totally ravaged by the floods.
Several elected representatives, who had joined the central team, explained the losses incurred by the farmers due to floods. Former minister Shashikant Naik and MLC Mahantesh Kavatagimath told the team about farmers losing soybean crops due to the natural calamity.
During their visit to the Badakundri village, the farmers informed the team about the loss of their soybean crop. One of the farmers explained that he had cultivated soybeans on a 1.17-acre land, but just when the crop was nearing the harvesting stage, the floods destroyed it, causing him huge losses. He was expecting a yield of at least 15 quintals of soybeans from his farm.
Deputy Commissioner M. H. Hiremath, who also accompanied the team, said that some 30 hectares of crops in the village were destroyed by the incessant rains and floods.
The team collected the details about the loans borrowed by the farmers for cultivation.
Meanwhile, the villagers urged the officials to release compensation for the houses that were damaged in floods.
The central team also visited a bridge in the Lolsur village, which had been damaged by the floods. Hiremath told the team about the loss to infrastructures such as roads and bridges. He requested the team to grant funds for the restoration of these structures.
