Govt to use drones to assess crop damage

Belagavi: District minister Govind Karjol on Monday instructed agriculture and horticulture officers to conduct a drone survey of crop damage in Belagavi district. Chairing a meeting to discuss precautionary measures in the event of a flood or excessive rainfall, h e stated that about 877 hectares of standing crops were damaged due to heavy rainfall. He directed officials to compensate the affected farmers after conducting a proper survey of the extent of the damage using drones.
The minister asked officials to pay out compensation to 775 homes damaged entirely or partially by rain, in accordance with the guidelines. Since most of Maharashtra's reservoirs are only 60% full, there is little risk of river flooding now, he said. However, nodal officers appointed for the purpose must carry out their duties properly. He told deputy commissioner Nitesh Patil to cancel all officers' leaves until the flood threat ceases to exist.
Karjol said the government has paid out Rs 924 crore in compensation for flood or heavy rain damage to 75,023 houses in the last three years. There are still complaints about not receiving compensation. In such cases, officials should conduct a re-survey of those families and, if the case is true, compensate them, he said.
The district minister clarified that there is a compensation fund of Rs 58 crore available. O fficers should begin survey and compensation distribution work immediately, he said.
MLC Prakash Hukkeri informed the minister that an estimate for the reconstruction of five low-lying bridges in Chikodi division was prepared five years ago. Every year during the rainy season, these bridges submerge, disrupting people's lives, he said, adding that the government should take up reconstruction of these bridges.
MLA Ganesh Hukkeri, ZP CEO Darshan HV, SP Sanjeev Patil, and other officers were present on the occasion.