Farmers rue their fate as incessant rain submerges fields in South Coastal Andhra Pradesh

Transplantation of saplings which was going on at a brisk pace has now been derailed, say paddy farmers; thousands of hectares of tobacco plantations suffer damage in SBS region of Prakasam

Farmers in South Coastal Andhra Pradesh were an anxious lot as intermittent showers under the influence of Cyclone Mandous’ remnants continued for the fourth successive day on Monday.

Efforts to pump out water from inundated fields by growers of paddy, tobacco and other crops proved to be a futile exercise as rains continued to pound Nellore and Prakasam districts on Monday too. Cyclone Mandous brought over 150 mm rainfall to the two districts since Friday, officials said.

Roads in several colonies in Nellore including Drivers Colony, Lakeview Colony, BV Nagar and Magunta Layout were under a sheet of water.

Paddy in over 15,000 hectares have been inundated in Nellore district for over three days now. Seedlings raised in more than 850 hectares have been damaged, according to a report compiled by the Agriculture Department in Nellore district.

The rains have come at the most inopportune time, rued a group of farmers in Kovur village as the transplantation of paddy seedlings was going on at a brisk pace.

Farmers who had raised tobacco in over 55,000 hectares in the two districts rued their fate as the downpour left the tender plants submerged. It has been pouring relentlessly since Friday, lamented tobacco growers at Mangamoor village near Ongole in Prakasam district.

Tobacco fields, especially in the Southern Black Soil (SBS) region including Ongole, Tangutur, Kondepi and Vellampalli, suffered heavy inundation, according to sources in the Tobacco Board. The Board officials held a virtual meeting with farmers from across the different auction platforms along with officials of the Central Tobacco Research Institute and FMCG major Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) on Monday to take stock of the situation. Farmers who had raised the crop early suffered the most, as they would have to go for replantation both in the SBS and Southern Light Soil (SLS) regions.