The officials have intensified the efforts to transport the harvested paddy to the nearby rice mills across the Godavari region to save the paddy yield from the incessant rains due to cyclone Michaung. The paddy harvesting has come to a standstill in the entire Godavari region based on the weather advisory by the government. The Godavari region, which is dubbed as ‘Rice Bowl of Andhra Pradesh’, is the prime paddy producer compared to any region in the State.
In Eluru district, a total of 7,000 MT of harvested paddy was shifted to the rice mills to save it. “By December 4, we have procured paddy worth ₹203.25 crore and ₹152 crores have been paid to the farmers in the Eluru district. We have intensified the task of shifting the paddy to the rice mills as the cyclone is expected to bring more rains”, said Eluru District Collector V. Prasanna Venkatesh.
In Dr.B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district, Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ch. Venu Gopala Krishna inspected the paddy post-harvesting activities in Konaseema region. “By December 4, over 90% of paddy was harvested in the Konaseema region. The harvested paddy is being shifted to the rice mills without any restrictions. However, damaged paddy will also be procured if rains continue due to the cyclone. We are also supplying the gunny bags for packing the harvested paddy, ” said Mr. Venu Gopala Krishna.
Evacuation
In West Godavari district, the officials have focussed on evacuation of the people in the low-lying areas as the district received heavy rainfall by Monday. “We have opened 20 relief camps and started evacuating nearly 2,300 people from the areas adjacent to the backwaters in the West Godavari district. However, all the pregnant women are being admitted to the nearby hospitals,” District Collector P. Prasanthi told The Hindu.
In East Godavari district, all the inland fisherfolk were told not to venture into the Godavari for fishing until further alert. “Control rooms were set up in Kovvuru, Bommuru and Rajamahendravaram city to deploy the officials for any support during the cyclone,” said East Godavari Collector K. Madhavilatha. The farmers are keeping their fingers crossed as the standing paddy crop would likely to be damaged due to continuous rainfall.
