Rains leave two lakh acres of ts fields under water

HYDERABAD: Now that heavy rains have stopped pounding Telangana, the magnitude of destruction caused to agriculture and infrastructure is coming into focus. As on Monday, the rains have inundated two lakh acres of agriculture fields in various parts of the State, leaving thousands of farmers in a state of shock. The floods have mostly affected paddy and cotton fields in the erstwhile districts of Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam and Mahabubnagar.

Speaking on the matter, State Agriculture Secretary, B Janardhan Reddy said, “The inundation of paddy fields is not a cause of concern, as the crop is still in the initial stages of cultivation. Since it is not in the harvesting phase, it can survive a couple of days of inundation. Same goes for cotton crop, which is also in the primary stages of cultivation. But the damages are yet to be assessed.”

As per a preliminary report from the Agriculture Department, more than half the damage was reported from Warangal Urban and Rural districts, where around 1.15 lakh acres of fields were submerged. In Bhupalpally and Mulugu, inundation was reported in 10,000 acres and 27,000 acres respectively, whereas in Khammam and Kothagudem, more than 23,000 acres of fields were flooded.