Unseasonal rains that lashed Kusumanchi, Tirumalayapalem, Mudigonda and various other mandals in the district on Sunday aggravated the woes of chilli farmers, who are already distraught over the crash in price.
Intermittent spells of untimely rain drenched the harvested chilli produce of farmers mostly stocked in open fields in several villages in Khammam division on Sunday, sources said.
The unseasonal rains dealt a severe blow to chilli growers at a time when they are worried over the ‘downward trend’ in chilli prices in the market.
The price of red chilli suddenly crashed from ₹21,000 a quintal in the second week of January to ₹13,300 per quintal now in Khammam agricultural market, dashing the hopes of many chilli growers of reaping rich dividends.
In a statement, CPI (M) district secretary Nunna Nageswara Rao said chilli, cotton, maize and paddy growers bore the brunt of unseasonal rains that lashed several parts of the district in the last three days.
The district administration should immediately enumerate the crop damages suffered by the farmers due to nature’s fury and send a report to the government for sanction of compensation to the aggrieved farmers, he said.
He further demanded that the government should initiate urgent measures to help the distraught farmers cope with the situation.
