The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has said that the Centre has supported the Andhra Pradesh government by releasing funds to compensate crop losses caused by floods that rocked the four southern districts of the State by the 2021-end.
The announcement came in response to the query raised by Member of Parliament (Tirupati) M. Gurumoorthy in the Parliament on Monday, seeking details on the quantum of compensation paid after the flash floods that left crops submerged in more than 8 lakh hectares, resulting in a loss of ₹3,000 crore.
Union Minister for Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar said assistance had been approved under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), in tune with the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) which visited the affected areas.
Of the additional financial assistance of ₹1,080.71 crore (including ₹555.19 crore towards input subsidy) sought from the NDRF, the Centre has sanctioned ₹351.43 including ₹201.90 crore towards input subsidy, he said.
The Minister also pointed out that the government was implementing several crop insurance schemes to provide financial support in the event of crop loss due to natural calamities, adverse weather conditions, pests and diseases. He advised the farmers to go for resilient varieties and suggested intercropping.
New train
Meanwhile, the Rajasthani community from Tirupati thanked Dr. Gurumoorthy for playing a key role in getting a direct special train to Jaipur. The South Central Railway (SCR) will run 09716/09715 Tirupati - Dahar ka Balaji (Jaipur) – Tirupati train as a weekly special between the two destinations. The train will start from Jaipur on April 9, 16, 23 and 30 (Saturdays) and from Tirupati on May 12, 19, 26 and 03 (Tuesdays), keeping in view the summer rush. The trains will halt at Jaipur, Durgapura, Sawai Madhopur, Kota, Ramganj Mandi, Ujjain, Shujalpur, Bhopal, Itarsi, Jujhapur cabin, Nagpur, Balharshah, Sirpur Kagaznagar, Warangal, Khammam, Vijayawada, Nellore, Gudur and Renigunta in both the directions.
