Central drought team inspects crops, meets farmers

CH NEWS, RAICHUR A Central drought assessment team conducted an extensive field inspection across drought-affected areas ofr district to assess the extent of crop damage caused by rainfall deficit. The team began its assessment in the afternoon and visited Devadurga, Lingasugur and Maski taluks, accompanied by district-level officials. A meeting was also held with officials at the Devadurga Taluk Panchayat, where the team gathered detailed information on the rainfall situation, crop conditions and the overall impact of drought in the district. During the field visit, the team inspected chilli, cotton and red gram (tur) crops in several villages. At Aminagada village in Maski taluk, the team interacted with farmers and inspected red gram fields to assess the extent of crop damage. Farmers informed the team that inadequate rainfall had severely affected onion, cotton and red gram crops, leaving many farmers facing significant losses. They explained the difficulties being caused by the prolonged rainfall deficit and sought appropriate relief and support. The assessment continued even after sunset, with the Central team and district officials inspecting agricultural fields using mobile phone torches in some locations. The field-level assessment is expected to help the Central team understand the ground reality and assess the extent of drought-related crop losses before submitting its report to the concerned authorities.