A six-member Inter-Ministerial team on Thursday documented the devastation caused to various commercial crops, fishing boats and infrastructure by the flash floods in the Godavari in July in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district.
The team was led by Ravinesh Kumar, Financial Adviser, National Disaster Management Authority. The other members included K. Manoharna, Director, Department of Agriculture, Co-operation & Farmers Welfare; P. Devender Rao, Director, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Regional Office (Hyderabad); and Shrawan Kumar Singh, SE, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Vijayawada.
The team inspected the crops such as banana, betel leaves, papaya, cocoa and vegetables that were completely damaged and did not survive after the floods.
The flood fury was recorded at Gopalapuram in Ravulapalem mandal and Nagu Lanka, an island village in P. Gannavaram mandal. At Baduva village, the fisherfolk showed the team members the remains of their boats and fishing equipment.
In a series of interactions with the flood victims, Mr. Ravinesh Kumar said that the team was tasked with submitting the magnitude of the flood and its impact on the people and infrastructure.
The farmers urged the team to recommend suitable and fair compensation and input subsidies to offset the crop loss.
Kothapeta MLA Ch. Jaggireddy explained about the input cost and the extent of damage caused to various crops.
In the case of betel leaves, the input cost was nearly ₹3 lakh, and farmers sought at least ₹1 lakh as compensation.
District Collector Himanshu Shukla and other officials were present.
