Rainwater inundates 1.5 lakh acres of crops in TN delta districts, Stalin forms team to assess losses

CHENNAI: Rainwater has inundated 1.5 lakh acres of standing crops in delta districts in Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister MK Stalin, who chaired a meeting to review the rain situation across the state at the secretariat, constituted a team of ministers to assess the crop losses in delta districts.

Ministers I Periyasamy, Thangam Thennarasu, KR Periyakaruppan, S Reghupathy, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi and Siva V Meyyanathan are members of the team.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister spoke to IAS officers who have been appointed as monitoring officers of all 38 districts in the state over the telephone and discussed the rain and flood situation.  

The Chief Minister directed them to take immediate steps to provide relief assistance to the people affected by rains and to ensure all basic amenities including food, medicare, and relief assistance to the people given shelter in relief camps.

At the secretariat, addressing a press conference, Agriculture Minister MRK Panneerselvam said Samba cultivation was going on in 44 lakh acres in delta districts, of which around 1.45 lakh acres of standing crops have been inundated by rainwater.

"Rainwater has started draining in many places now. The assessment of damages caused to the crops will be known once the survey is over. Relief assistance will be given to the farmers who have lost standing crops above 33 percent. Similarly, 31.76 lakh acres of horticultural crops have been cultivated. Of this, water inundated 6,000 acres of crops," he said.