Re: National Calamity: Sid Harth
bademiyansubhanallah
Floods leave 2.5 million homeless, 250 dead
5 Oct 2009, 1837 hrs IST, REUTERS
HYDERABAD: About 2.5 million people crammed into temporary relief
shelters after floods triggered by torrential rains tore down their
homes in southern India over the last week and killed some 250 people,
officials said on Monday.
Most of the deaths were reported from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
where rivers topped or breached their embankments. Some deaths
occurred in the western Maharashtra.
The flooding, described by officials as worst in many decades in south
India, swamped millions of acres of cropland, including sugarcane
plantations, prompting worries of a fall in sugar output in Karnataka,
the country's third-biggest producer.
Officials and relief agencies said more than five million people had
been affected by the flooding and were now sheltered in over 1,200
temporary camps. They included about 2.5 million people from Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh who lost their homes.
"These are the worst floods in 100 years," said Dharmana Prasada Rao,
Andhra Pradesh's minister for revenue and relief.
H.V. Parashwanath, a Karnataka disaster management official overseeing
relief operations, told Reuters that some two million people had been
made homeless in the state.
Sonia Gandhi, the head of India's ruling Congress party, and Union
Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram inspected the devastation.
Relief officials used helicopters and boats to drop off rations and
plastic sheets to hundreds of marooned villagers in the two states.
While rains had subsided in Karnataka, overflowing rivers and dams in
Andhra Pradesh threatened to inundate Vijayawada, a city about a
million people and an important trading centre.
Authorities used hundreds of thousands of sandbags to fortify
weakening embankments and evacuated more than 200,000 people living
close to the Krishna river.
Officials said vast areas of agricultural land, including sugarcane
and paddy fields, were under water in the state.
"About two-thirds of the 54 sugar mills in the state have been forced
to delay crushing by a week to 10 days as cane fields are submerged,"
Govind Reddy, a secretary of the Southern Indian Sugar Mills
Association, told Reuters over phone from Bangalore, the capital of
Karnataka.
...and I am Sid Harth
bademiyansubhanallah
Vijayawada faces worst flood in 100 years
6 Oct 2009, 0948 hrs IST, TNN
VIJAYAWADA: The heaviest flood in over a hundred years hit the
Prakasam barrage on Krishna river threatening several villages
downstream even as people of Vijayawada city clung on to a faint hope
on Monday.
The toll in the heavy rains and rampaging floods in the state rose to
52. The Krishna was all furious as a record 11.03 lakh cusecs of
floodwater reached Prakasam barrage. However, there was no threat to
human lives as 2.5 lakh people of Krishna and Guntur districts have
already been shifted to relief camps.
The situation in lanka villages — island villages where the Krishna
meets the Bay of Bengal — however was grim as more than 50,000 people
were trapped in floodwaters. Many colonies along the left bank of the
Krishna in Vijayawada city submerged as the water level touched 6 feet
in the evening. "The situation will remain grim till Wednesday as the
flood discharge at Prakasam barrage will continue to be around 11 lakh
cusecs," an official said.
With nearly 11 lakh cusecs of water in the swollen Krishna cascading
from the Prakasam barrage, there was a concern on the ability of the
flood banks to withstand the fierce pounding by the swirling river.
However, engineers have assured the public that the flood banks were
designed to take 11 lakh cusecs of water and that they have
strengthened the weak points in the flood banks. This is the heaviest
flood in more than 106 years as the previous record was 10.30 lakh
cusecs in 1903, irrigation authorities said.
The water level touched 21.9 feet as all the 72 sluice gates were
lifted to let out the execess waters. The discharge from
Nagarjunasagar is expected to remain constant (10.17 lakh cusecs) at
least for the next 24 hours and the outflow from Prakasam barrage will
be around 10.87 lakh cusecs. With the floods receding in Kurnool and
Mahbubnagar, water management at Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar and
Prakasam barrage are being done in tandem to minimise the losses
downstream, irrigation officials said.
The gates at Almatti have been closed and the inflows into Srisailam
came down to 5.38 lakh cusecs while the outflow was 10 lakh cusecs on
Monday. In view of the improvement in the situation, the engineers
have decided to lower the level of the gates and close the emergency
gate.
Chief minister K Rosaiah said a review of the damage to the Srisailam
right bank power house with 770 MW generation capacity was being
assessed. "Once the floods recede completely, a team of experts will
be constituted to examine the damage the irrigation projects might
have suffered due to the heavy flooding," he said.
CM Rosaiah has urged the Centre to consider it as a national calamity
and provide Rs 6,000 crore for relief work. In a letter to PM Manmohan
Singh, Rosaiah said the damages in the floods was to the tune of Rs
12,225 crore. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi undertook an aerial survery
of the flood-ravaged areas.
Of the 52 deaths, Kurnool district accounted for 28 deaths, 17 died in
Mahbubnagar, Krishna and Nalgonda reported three each and Guntur one.
The Pulichintala project under construction on the Krishna was
completely submerged. Sources said 719 minor irrigation tanks were
damaged.
chhotemianinshallah
Incessant rains paralyses life
STAFF WRITER 17:36 HRS IST
Dehra Dun, Oct 6 (PTI) Life in Uttarakhand capital came to a
standstill for a few hours today due to incessant rains.
However, the water receded fast and roads were cleared off water
logging.
Met Director Anand Sharma said that Dehra Dun recorded nearly 4 cm of
high intensity rainfall in just one hour time.
Heavy rains are also expected to lash Kumaon region as well as
isolated places of Garhwal region in the next 24 hours, he said,
adding weather is likely to improve in a day or two.
chhotemianinshallah
Flood situation eases in AP, Karnataka; toll 252
STAFF WRITER 15:35 HRS IST
Vijayawada/Bangalore, Oct 6 (PTI) The flood situation today eased in
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka which were swamped by torrential rains
since last week by the receding monsoon but the toll mounted to 252
with more bodies being found.
There was let up in the rains in the past two days in Karnataka giving
some respite to the flood victims, large numbers of whom were now
lodged in transit camps.
Three more bodies were found in Karnataka - two from Chikkaballapura
district and one from Karwar in Uttara Kannada district - where a
landslide had occurred last week, taking the toll to 197, officials
said in Bangalore.
Around 2.5 lakh houses have either collapsed or damaged by the
torrential rains with as many as 1.8 crore people badly hit.
With the floods subsiding, the state machinery is now concentrating on
relief work.
chhotemianinshallah
Sid Harth
New Delhi, October 6, 2009
PM sanctions relief to flood-victims
PTI
With floods taking a heavy toll in four states particularly in
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday
sanctioned ex-gratia relief of Rs. 1 lakh each to the next of kin of
those killed in the deluge.
“The Prime Minister is grieved to learn about the loss of life due to
the recent floods in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra,”
a PMO spokesman said.
Singh has sanctioned an ex-gratia of Rs. 1 lakh each from the PM’s
National Relief Fund to the next of kin of the deceased, he said.
At least 252 people lost their lives in floods in AP and Karnataka.
Sid Harth
HYDERABAD, October 6, 2009
Krishna breaches embankment, 70 villages inundated
Special Correspondent
THE HINDU Villagers of Volerupalem being rescued after the Krishna
river flood embankment breached at Oleru village in Pallepalem on
Tuesday. Photo: T. Vijayakumar
Embankments of the Krishna and its numerous canals criss-crossing the
delta in Guntur and Krishna districts have begun breaching at several
places as there was no let up in the outflow of water from the
Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada on Tuesday.
One embankment gave way near Repalle town in Guntur in the wee hours.
The surging water soon entered at least five villages downstream.
Officials evacuated people from these villages before any lives were
lost and are persuading those in other villages to leave to safer
places. Irrigation and revenue officials are planning ways to prevent
water from entering Repalle town.
Meanwhile, contrary to the assurances given by Chief Minister K.
Rosaiah and irrigation officials that the outflow from the Prakasam
Barrage would come down to 9 lakh cusecus on Monday by regulating the
releases at Nagarjunasagar, the discharge remained at a high of 10.8
lakh cusecs till Tuesday noon. Officials are now attributing this
heavy inflow to the water released 24 hours ago, the time taken for
the water to flow from Nagarjunsasgar to the Prakasam Barrage.
People in the Diviseema area of Krishna district, especially in
Hamsaladeevi village, lying in the estuary, are living in the grip of
fear. This village lies about seven km from the Bay of Bengal and any
breach of the river embankments, already being pounded by the enormous
quantity of water, would spell disaster.
So far, two breaches have occurred -- one to the KEB canal inundating
three to four villages and another near Edurumundi village which has
submerged 12 villages.
PTI report adds
The Krishna river flood embankment breached at Oleru village in
Pallepalem today.
The Irrigation Department rushed to close the 20-metre breach point,
however, after struggling for two hours, they expressed their
inability to accomplish the job till the flood recedes, officials
said.
Industries Minister K Lakshminarayana and Technical Education Minister
M V Ramana Rao directed the police to use force if necessary to shift
the villagers to safer places.
The breach caused due to the release of 11.2 lakh cusecs of water from
the Prakasam barrage (near Vijayawada) down the stream and also due to
farmers inserting cement pipes in the flood bank for drawing water to
irrigate their lands, officials said.
As many as 70 villages in 15 taluks along the river course were
inundated by the floods in Guntur district. The most hit were
Bhattiprolu, Repalle, Kollur and Kollipara taluks.
The ancient Amaralingeswara Swamy temple in Amaravathi town continues
to be encircled by water. Low lying areas in the town are waterlogged.
The Amaravathi-Guntur road has breached disrupting traffic. Madduru
village is marooned.
Sid Harth
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article29118.ece
HYDERABAD, October 5, 2009
Anxiety as high flood reaches Vijayawada; toll rises to 240
Special Correspondent
PTI Congress president Sonia Gandhi arrives at the Rajiv Gandhi
International Airport in Hyderabad on Oct. 5, 2009 for an aerial
survey of the flood-affected districts of Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka.
Thousands of people in Krishna and Guntur districts are on tenterhooks
since Monday noon as an enormous quantity of 10.5 lakh cusecs,
released from Nagarjunasagar, reached the Krishna Barrage in
Vijayawada and threatened to submerge villages downstream.
However, irrigation officials said there was no cause for alarm as
they were regulating the flow of water from Nagarjunasagar as well as
releases from Prakasam Barrage in a planned manner. He said the
outflow from Prakasam Barrage would be brought down to nine lakh cuses
by Monday evening thus reducing the threat of submersion to villages
downstream of the barrage. Moreover, the bunds of canals that criss-
cross the two districts had been strengthened during the last two days
to prevent them from breaching, he said.
Meanwhile, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi reached Hyderabad and went on
an aerial survey of the flood-affected districts accompanied by Union
Home Minister P. Chidambaram and A. P. Chief Minister K. Rosaiah. The
government has estimated the flood damage at Rs. 1,225 crore and urged
the Centre to declare it as a national calamity.
The government has estimated the number of people affected by the
floods so far at 13 lakhs. This number does not include people living
downstream of Nagarjunasagar where the Krishna has inundated about 200
villages in Nalgonda, Guntur and Krishna districts. About two lakh
more people have been rendered homeless.
The all-important road link between Hyderabad and Vijayawada was
snapped on Monday as flood waters of the Krishna flowed over parts of
National Highway 9 at Keesara, Kanchikacherla, Ibrahimpatnam and other
places. The large expanse of water that engulfed villages in
Avanigadda area, close to the Bay of Bengal, reminded one of the 1977
tidal wave tragedy of Diviseema.
In Kurnool and Mahabubnagar districts where the floods in the Krishna
and in its two major tributaries, the Tungabhadra and Handri, heaped
misery on lakhs of people, the situation has improved though the
government has now the massive task of providing relief and
rehabilitation. However, normalcy was yet to be restored in Nandyal
town in Kurnool, half of which was submerged by flash floods in the
Kundu river on its outskirts.
PTI reports
The heaviest flood in over a 100 years hit the Prakasam Barrage on
Krishna River threatening several villages downstream even as the toll
due to heavy rains and rampaging floods in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
and Maharashtra climbed to 240.
River Krishna virtually turned into a sea in all its fury as a record
10.61 lakh cusecs of flood water reached Prakasam Barrage.
This is the heaviest flood in river Krishna in more than 106 years as
the previous record stands at 10.30 lakh cusecs in 1903, irrigation
authorities said in Vijayawada.
While Karnataka accounted for 178 deaths following recovery of 10 more
bodies in northern and coastal regions of the state, Andhra Pradesh
registered 37 deaths while Maharashtra 25. Over two lakh homes have
been washed away in the three states where the receding monsoon has
caused extensive damage to crops.
Sid Harth
HYDERABAD/BANGALORE, October 5, 2009
Fresh flood threat to Krishna, Guntur
Special Correspondents
THE HINDU IN ALL ITS FURY: A swollen Krishna almost touches the rail
bridge downstream Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada on Monday. Photo:: CH
VIJAYA BHASKAR.
The threat of floods looms large over thousands of people in Krishna
and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh as 10.5 lakh cusecs water was
being released from the Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada on Monday. The
death toll in the heavy rains in several northern districts of
Karnataka increased to 194 with 25 unidentified bodies found in
several places.
Already, several island villages in the Krishna estuary have been
inundated, while many more in the Diviseema region, which was
devastated by a cyclone in 1977, are rapidly getting submerged. As
many as 30 villages upstream of the barrage are marooned since the
structure is unable to discharge the massive inflows it is receiving
from the Nagarjunasagar.
The river embankments will be breached and Vijayawada itself may
suffer further damage if the outflow touches the 11 lakh cusec-mark
but Chief Minister K. Rosaiah ruled this out as water was being
released with meticulous planning and the quantum would come down to 9
lakh cusecs by Tuesday morning.
Over two lakh people have already been rendered homeless by the fresh
floods.
Traffic on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad National Highway 9 has been
diverted as several stretches are lying under water. Railway
authorities are anxiously watching the water level downstream of the
Prakasam Barrage since the Krishna is nearly touching the rail bridge
connecting Vijayawada to Chennai. Nandyal town in Kurnool district
continues to be cut off. The death toll in the floods, ravaging the
State since October 1, now stands at 52.
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi,
accompanied by Mr. Rosaiah, made an aerial survey of the flood-hit
areas in Kurnool and Mahabubnagar. Mr. Rosaiah earlier sent a status
report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stating that the preliminary
estimate of the flood loss was Rs. 12,225 crore, including Rs. 10,000-
crore damage to dams, roads, power infrastructure and communication.
He urged the Centre to treat the disaster as a ‘national calamity of
rare severity’ and release Rs. 6,000 crore as immediate assistance.
The Chief Minister thanked the Karnataka government for closing the
crest gates of the Almatti reservoir and ensuring staggered releases
from Narayanpur, both across the Krishna, to avoid heavy inflow into
the Srisailam reservoir.
Reports reaching Bangalore indicated that while the water level in the
Krishna and its tributaries, including the Tungabhadra, had
substantially receded since Sunday, the State government is watching
the situation closely following some reports that more rain could be
expected.
Over 3.55 lakh people have been accommodated in 1,200 relief camps and
provided with food, clothing and medicines.
Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and Revenue Minister G. Karunakara
Reddy have been overseeing relief operations in the worst-affected
districts over the last few days.
Mr. Yeddyurappa and Ms. Sonia Gandhi made a quick aerial survey of
Bellary, Raichur and Bijapur districts. Mr. Yeddyurappa submitted a
memorandum to the AICC president and requested her to persuade the
Union government to declare the situation a “national calamity.” “An
interim relief of Rs. 10,000 crore is sought from the Union government
for relief and restoration of damaged infrastructure in the affected
areas.”
Sid Harth
Kurnool (AP), October 6, 2009
Kurnool faces sanitation woes as filth piles up
PTI
PTI Y. S Jagan Mohan Reddy listens to the woes of flood victims at a
village in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh on Monday. Photo: PTI
The woes of people in Kurnool town, about 290 km from Hyderabad, still
continue even after receding of flood water which ravaged the entire
city five days ago.
Though the flood water has receded completely, the roads and streets
are filled up with slush which had entered the houses during floods.
People are having a tough time cleaning their houses besides facing
shortage of essential commodities.
“The district administration engaged about 2,000 workers for
sanitation works in the town today,” District Collector Mukesh Kumar
Meena told PTI over phone.
“As the strength of sanitary workers in the town was not sufficient,
we have taken services of workers from nearby mandals and
municipalities,” he said.
He said 400 more workers from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation
(GHMC) would arrive here to participate in sanitation work by tomorrow
as repairing of roads breached between Kurnool and Hyderabad is likely
to be completed by this evening.
Sid Harth
Belgaum, October 6, 2009
Centre yet to respond to request for aid, says Yeddyurappa
Staff Correspondent
PTI Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa listens a victim of flood havoc in
Bagalkot on Monday. Photo: PTI
The Centre has not responded yet to the State’s request for funds for
relief and rehabilitation measures in areas affected by devastating
floods following torrential rainfall in 14 districts, Chief Minister
B.S. Yeddyurappa has said. He has urged the Congress to seriously
consider what he described as the discriminatory attitude of the
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government towards Karnataka.
However, the State Government will go ahead with relief and
rehabilitation measures using its own funds. All chronically flood-
prone villages in the Krishna basin will be relocated within a year,
he said.
The Chief Minister was talking to presspersons after inspecting a
breached tank in Bolkadabi village and meeting flood-affected families
at a gruel centre in Shivapur village in Savadatti taluk on Tuesday.
Mr. Yeddyurappa said though the State Government had submitted two
memorandums to the Centre on the losses due to the natural calamity
and proposals to provide immediate relief and rehabilitation to the
affected families, the Centre had not yet responded.
He alleged that though the magnitude of the losses due to torrential
rainfall and floods in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh was relatively
lower than that in Karnataka, the former was receiving better
treatment.
However, he would lead a delegation to the Centre to request the Prime
Minister to release adequate funds to expedite relief and
rehabilitation efforts.
Meeting
Mr. Yeddyurappa said the State-level High Power Committee would meet
in Bangalore on Wednesday to review the impact of the natural calamity
and discuss immediate and long-term measures that required to be
taken.
According to the latest reports, nearly three lakh houses had either
fully or partially collapsed. The Government planned to construct 1.50
lakh to 2 lakh houses for the affected families.
Responding to a question, he said farmers were not getting adequate
compensation for their crop losses because the insurance scheme was
not properly designed. The village should be treated as a unit and not
the hobli to ensure that farmers actually benefited, he said.
Sid Harth
NEW DELHI, October 6, 2009
Utilise Calamity Relief Fund: Chidambaram
Special Correspondent
The Hindu Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram Union Home Minister P.
Chidambaram has advised the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka, the two States worst hit by floods, to utilize the Calamity
Relief Fund immediately.
Mr. Chidambaram who toured the flood-affected areas of the two States
on Monday said that once 75 per cent of the CRF got exhausted, the
State government may draw on the National Calamity Contingency Fund
from which advances would be provided.
“As soon as the State government concerned is ready to receive the
Central team, a team will be sent to the State to assess the damage
according to well established norms,” he said .
While assuring the State governments that availability of funds will
not be a constraint and that they should focus on providing relief to
the affected people, the Minister said that further measures would be
considered after Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee returned from
abroad on Wednesday.
`Centre ready to help'
“We were deeply moved by the scale of the calamity. The loss of life,
property, cattle, and standing crops is enormous. Lakhs of people have
been accommodated in camps. Rescue and relief operations are in full
swing, and it may take a few more days for the situation to stabilize.
There will be more work to be done in the days and weeks ahead. The
Central government stands ready to provide more help, if needed,” Mr.
Chidambaram said.
Sid Harth
VIJAYAWADA, October 6, 2009
More areas inundated; water supply affected in Vijayawada
Staff Reporter
THE HINDU Ramalingeswaranagar in Vijayawada submerged by flood
waters.
The city was gripped by fear and tension as the flood level at
Prakasam Barrage showed a continuous rise on Monday, inundating more
colonies and localities.
The localities in Krishnalanka, Ramalingeswara Nagar, Bhavanipuram and
Ranigarithota were inundated by the floodwaters by Monday morning.
Water supply was badly hit in many areas, as three of the five
filtration plants were submerged in floodwaters. Only two plants – 5
MGD and 16 MGD plants – functioned till evening.
The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials embanked the
Ramalingeswra Nagar and 8-MGD plants with sand bags with a view to
putting them into functioning. Water supply was restored to areas like
J. D. Nagar, P&T Colony, Srinivasa Nagar, Bank Colony, Veterinary
Colony, LIC Colony, and Ashok Nagar by 8 p.m.
The officials advised voluntary organisations not to distribute food
and eatables directly to the flood victims in view of the food
poisoning reported from Bhavanipuram on Sunday night. Instead, the non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) could contact the control room set
up in the VMC office in case they intended to help the people in
distress.
Panchayat Raj Minister Botcha Satyanarayana asserted that there was no
problem at the Dr. Narla Tata Rao Thermal Power Station (NTTPS). All
the units were functioning normally. There was no disruption in power
supply, and the generation too would continue, he said.
Special Officer Rajiv Sarma, Krishna District Collector Peeyush Kumar
and others said there was no need to get panicky as the situation was
under control. The administration was geared up to meet the flood
discharge, they said, adding that the floodwaters at the barrage had
actually stabilised.
Police Commissioner K. V. Rajendranath Reddy said that the traffic
bound for or coming from Hyderabad, Chennai and other places was
diverted following inundation of the National Highway at Mulapdu,
Jupudi and other villages.
The traffic coming from or going to Hyderabad should take Guntur-
Vadapalli- Miryalaguda route to reach Hyderabad or vice-versa (to
reach Vijayawada). Similarly, the traffic bound for Chennai could take
Ongole-Narkatpalli-Chennai route. The traffic coming from Kolkatta was
also diverted and these vehicles should take Jangareddigudem-
Aswaraopeta-Khammam-Hyderabad route.
The officials stated that the total number of relief camps in
operation in the city was 28. While the number of people shifted to
the camps was 12,180, the number of people moved to safer places was
33,131. Boats and lorries were kept ready in villages for rescue
operations, they said.
Sid Harth
Bangalore, October 6, 2009
Karnataka turns focus on relief operations as floods recede
PTI
PTI Students from various colleges collect flood relief funds in
Hubli, Karnataka, on Monday
With the flood situation easing steadily, Karnataka government has now
turned its focus on marshalling resources to take up relief and
rehabilitation operations in the rain-ravaged northern and coastal
regions.
Based on initial reports, the State has estimated that the loss caused
by the floods to roads, bridges, culverts, houses, village and
infrastructure and standing crops in 25 lakh hectares area amounted to
Rs 16,500 crore.
Around 2.5 lakh houses have either collapsed or damaged by the
torrential rains with as many as 1.8 crore people affected. The death
toll as of Monday evening was 194.
There is let up in the rains in the past two days, giving some respite
to the flood victims.
“Karnataka is reeling under unprecedented floods caused by heavy
rains”, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who has camped in affected
areas and been conducting aerial and overseeing rescue and relief
works, said.
“This century’s most severe rain has wreaked havoc in 18 districts and
has jeopardised the life of the people”, he said, adding “the rain has
damaged property worth Rs 20,000 crore“.
The State has submitted a memorandum to Home Minister P Chidambaram,
who on Tuesday conducted an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas along
with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, seeking Rs 16,500 crore for relief
and rehabilitation works.
Sid Harth
August 19, 2009
Till the cows no longer come home
P. Sainath
THE HINDU Small farmers hanging around in Panderkauda, trying to
dispose of their cattle at a reasonable price they will not get.
Photo: Special Arrangement
“Truckloads of cattle have left this village,” says Maruti Yadavrao
Panghate in Devdhari village of Yavatmal. “Many more will go. There is
no fodder or water for them.” Panghate, who owns five acres, feels he
has lost “80 per cent of my soybean, 70 per cent of cotton and 50 per
cent of all the jowar I’ve sown. Late rains even at this point will
retrieve something, though not much. However, it could help with
fodder and some water. Without that, the rest of the cattle will go,
too. Already bullocks worth Rs.10,000 are selling at Rs. 4,000. It’s
the same in other villages.”
The distress sale of cattle is one of the most sensitive indicators of
crisis in the countryside. And when prices fall the way they have
here, it suggests the onset of unusual levels of hardship. Vidharbha
may not be yet as severely hit by the drought as parts of Marathwada
or neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. But its situation is fragile. Its
farmers have been battered by years of an agrarian crisis that had
little to do with drought. Coming atop that crisis, monsoon failure
hits a people far more vulnerable than they were in other decades.
There is still a six to eight day loop, as Panghate says, in which
late rains can save something. “It’s been 20 days since the last
showers,” says Yavatmal’s worried but energetic Collector Sanjay
Deshmukh. “As things are now, we stand to lose about a fifth of the
crop. If they stay this way and there are no further rains, we could
lose up to 50 per cent of the crop.” (Others fear higher losses.)
Deshmukh is hopeful that late rains could keep that down to just a
fifth. And he has opened fodder depots, released dam water strictly
for drinking water purposes and activated new NREGs works. It’s a race
against time.
The cattle sales continue, though. “If the drought gets worse, people
won’t keep any cattle at all,” warns Hafizuddin Kabiruddin, one of the
15-odd agents or dalals at the cattle market in Panderkauda. “I have
not seen this kind of situation and I’ve been 25 years in the trade.
And mind you most of the sales are taking place directly at the
village rather than at our cattle market. The trucks just pick them
from the villages and move across the Andhra border to Adilabad.”
There, they go to the abattoirs.
Hafizuddin explains why prices have fallen most on premium breeds.
“The top breeds consume far more fodder than the others. Hence Jerseys
worth Rs. 15,000 are going for around Rs. 8,000. High priced bullock
jodis (pairs) which would have fetched Rs. 50,000 or more last year
won’t get you Rs. 30,000 now. You will also find that far more
buffaloes are sold off than cows as they consume much more fodder than
the latter. All varieties have fallen, but the nondescript ones had a
low price anyway. So maybe those drop by Rs.2,000 or so.” That’s a lot
of money for a poor family losing its milch animal.
At the end of two hours of explaining the trade and its present
situation to us, Hafizuddin reveals that he too has been hit. “I’ve
had to sell nine head of cattle in the past month.” Quite a few of
those from premium breeds. He has lost around Rs.35,000 on those. He
did not want to sell them, but “where is the fodder?”
“Water, too, is a huge problem,” says Amol Srirami whose family owns a
well-known lassi shop in Panderkauda town. He and his brother Prashant
have sold three of their five buffaloes in just the past eight days.
“We lost a packet on that,” he says ruefully. “The lassi season is
really for three months from about March to May. But you’ve got to
feed and care for the animals all 12 months. Less fodder translates
into less milk, so there’s no earning there either. I think each house
in our Tadumri village has sold one or two head of cattle.” And so the
Prashant Ras Vihar and Lassi Centre stays closed “for the season.”
Water, as Srirami says, is a huge problem for livestock as well. But
typically, as one district official points out, “governments in a time
of crisis tend to focus only on drinking water for human beings.” In a
country with close to 600 million farm animals, that’s a problem.
“Farm animals are not taken into account at the time of planning.”
“You can see that the cattle and goats are having to drink any water
they can, a lot of it quite toxic, from contaminated sources,” says
Vidharbha Jan Andolan Samiti leader Kishor Tiwari. His organisation
has been at the forefront of fighting for the rights of farmers in
this region. “If the rains do not show in the next week,” he says, “we
are in serious trouble on every front. Crop, water and fodder.” Water,
confirm those selling off their cattle, is as much a problem as
fodder. Oddly enough, lower level officials in some talukas deny there
is a fodder crisis. They say all applications for fodder “have been
disposed off.” This contrasted sharply with claims amongst villagers
that they were unable to get any. “Perhaps people have long ago given
up seeking things from the administration,” jokes Tiwari. But
Collector Deshmukh is taking no chances on this front and opening
fodder centres anyway.
There is also the problem that over years, as in much of the country,
the district’s agriculture extension machinery is crippled. At some
levels non-existent. “One-third of extension officers posts are lying
vacant,” says an official. “Then there are so many vacancies in
clerical posts as well. So many of those meant to do extension work
are pressed into clerical duties. That means even fewer people in the
field.”
In a region already beset with problems, the soybean crop being hit by
pest, the jowar (that could provide fodder) in danger and water
getting scarcer, the next eight days will be crucial.
bademiyansubhanallah
Death toll from floods in south India passes 250
AP
First Published : 06 Oct 2009 02:44:33 PM IST
Last Updated : 06 Oct 2009 07:42:48 PM IST
HYDERABAD, India: Thousands of troops and relief workers fanned out
across southern India, officials said Tuesday, providing aid to areas
devastated by flooding that has left more than 250 people dead and
displaced millions more.
The floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states, described as the
worst in decades, have resulted in losses of homes, farms and
infrastructure worth over 220 billion rupees ($4.6 billion),
authorities say.
In Karnataka, the worst-hit of the two states, the death toll has
risen to 194 and more than 150,000 are staying in hundreds of state-
run relief camps, R.V. Jagdish, a government spokesman said. Hundreds
of thousands more have sought shelter in the homes of friends and
relatives.
In neighboring Andhra Pradesh, 60 people have died and more than a
million people have sought shelter in 100 relief camps, Dharmana
Prasada Rao, the state's revenue minister said.
In Andhra Pradesh, thousands of army troops have joined local
government workers in placing sandbags to strengthen the embankments
of the flooded Krishna River, Rao said. The river runs through the
town of Vijaywada, which is home to more than a million people.
In both states, the flood waters continued to recede Tuesday after a
48-hour halt in the rain, officials said. The state governments are
now focusing on assessing the damage and ensuring that medical aid
reaches the displaced to prevent disease from spreading. Aid workers
are also distributing food and clean drinking water in the relief
camps.
The head of India's ruling Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi, and Home
Minister P. Chidambaram conducted aerial surveys of the affected areas
in both states on Monday, Jagdish said.
Just weeks ago, most parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were
suffering from severe drought. Weather officials say an area of low
pressure in the Bay of Bengal has caused the sudden, torrential rains.
More rain is forecast for the area over the next 24 hours.
Comments Vienna,06-10-2009
The disaster is clear exposure of the southern state government, as
was the 2004 Mumbai floods on Maharashtra government. Governments
should fulfill their responsibilities.It is not late even now for the
southern states to make a beginning by initiating co-operation on
developing monsoon lakes in the form of interlinked canal on both
sides of Highways that would both serve irrigation purposes and flood
prevention measure. If two thousand 250 or so years ago emperor Ashoka
could get irrigation canals dug up what prevents modern 21st century
governments doing better? Tamilnadu and Karnataka fight for dimiishing
flow of Kaveri water during dry season.Why not take care of excess
water flow together by co-operation?-Kulamarva Balakrishna
By Kulamarva Balakrishna
10/6/2009 5:28:00 PM
bademiyansubhanallah
A perfect recipe for disaster
The New Indian Express
First Published : 06 Oct 2009 12:08:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 06 Oct 2009 12:37:44 AM IST
It was, by any measure, more of a man-made disaster than a natural
calamity. This is the conclusion we are bound to draw from the
devastation wreaked by the worst-ever floods in Andhra Pradesh,
notwithstanding the fact that the Krishna received the highest-ever
inflows in over a century. There is more than one reason for this
inference, some immediate and some a culmination of indifference over
a period of time. In the immediate context, officials did not pay
attention to warnings received 48 hours in advance from the CWC about
huge inflows into Krishna. The ill-effects of the legacy of
centralisation, began by Chandrababu Naidu, has numbed engineers at
Srisailam who, in the normal course, would have exercised their
judgment and maintained low storage which could have helped absorb the
unprecedented inflows of over 20 lakh cusecs.
Poor maintenance of river bunds at several places is another issue.
Add to this, the continued preoccupation of ministers and
administration with the leadership crisis in the wake of YSR’s death.
All put, a perfect recipe for disaster.
Kurnool, once the state capital, and the most popular temple town of
Mantralayam remained under a sheet of water for two full days, so much
so that the peetadhipathi had to be rescued by a IAF chopper. The
government, literally, threw its hands up, merely appealing to people
in low-lying areas along the river course in five districts to move to
safer places as it was left with no option but to make heavy
discharges from various dams to prevent damage to their structures.
More than a million people have been badly affected and the total
loss, though preliminary, has been put at Rs 12,000 crore.
The real test begins now. Relief and rehabilitation operations are
required on a massive scale and health hazards need to be handled on a
war footing. It would be impossible for government machinery alone to
handle this — the civil society has to step in and in a big way. As in
the case of every disaster, there are a lot of lessons to be learnt.
The least that should be done is to constitute a disaster management
authority at the state level, on the lines of the one at the national
level, and allow it to function on professional and scientific lines
so that emergencies of this kind are handled better in future.
bademiyansubhanallah
Boats row on flooded streets of Kurnool which is still under water for
the fifth consecutive day, on Tuesday. PTI Photo Photograph (1)
Centre releases funds for flood-hit Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
STAFF WRITER 12:27 HRS IST
New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) Centre has released Rs 209.1 crore from the
Calamity Relief Fund to flood-hit Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to
tackle the situation.
Andhra Pradesh will receive Rs 156.84 crore while Karnataka will get
Rs 52.26 crore, an official release said.
The funds are the second instalment of the Central share of Calamity
Relief Fund for the year 2009-10. The amount is usually released in
December, but the payment has been advanced in view of the grim
situation in the two states.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Cabinet Secretary K M
Chandrashekhar yesterday to review the flood situation in Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh.
The Resident Commissioners of both the states, who attended the
meeting appreciated the prompt and quick response by the Centre in
providing logistic support for rescue and relief operations..
bademiyansubhanallah
Rehabilitation of Goa flood victims to start soon
STAFF WRITER 13:21 HRS IST
Panaji, Oct 7 (PTI) As the flood affected people of Goa's Canacona
taluka come to terms with the calamity, state government today said
the rehabilitation process will start within a fortnight.
"The first priority is to get the people out of trauma.
Some families have lost almost everything," Chief Secretary Sanjay
Srivastava told PTI.
He said the state has mobilised resources for the rehabilitation
process which will begin within a fortnight.
Goa has been sanctioned Rs five crore from the Central kitty after
Chief Minister Digamber Kamat met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on
Tuesday in Delhi.
"Adequate funds would be made available to the agencies involved in
rehabilitation and it should not be a problem as we are drawing money
from Calamity Relief fund (CRF)," he said.
The worst-ever floods in Canacona had destroyed 250 houses and damaged
400 others last weekend, rendering hundreds of people homeless.
bademiyansubhanallah
6 more bodies traced, flood toll 212 in Karnataka
STAFF WRITER 13:15 HRS IST
Bangalore, Oct 7 (PTI) The toll in the rain and flood fury in
Karnataka has climbed to 212 with six more bodies being recovered,
officials said today.
Four bodies were recovered from Kaduwad near Karwar in Uttara Kannada
district, the scene of a landslide that buried eight houses last week
during pounding rains, they said.
As many as 19 people were feared to have been buried alive in the
incident, of which 11 bodies have been recovered.
Forty military and 20 Navy personnel along with three cranes and two
excavators are engaged in operations in Kaduwad.
One body each was recovered from Bijapur and Koppal districts.
The number of houses that collapsed or were damaged in the havoc has
been officially put at 2,98,713 this morning. As many as 5,300 cattle
have been washed away.Some 1497 villages have been damaged in the
rains.
A total of 1,619 relief camps have been opened, sheltering 6,59,971
persons
bademiyansubhanallah
ervene to release central funds: K'taka CM to Prez
STAFF WRITER 11:55 HRS IST
Bangalore, Oct 7 (PTI) Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has
appealed to President Pratibha Patil for her intervention in
impressing upon the Centre to immediately release funds to the state
to take up relief and rehabilitation works in flood-affected areas.
Patil spoke to Yeddyurappa over telephone yesterday and expressed her
concern over the flood-situation that has left behind a trail of
destruction and loss of 206 lives as of last evening.
Yeddyurappa, in a letter to the President, said the state government
has already requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to release Rs
10,000 crore for such works and has urged the Centre to declare the
floods as a national calamity.
According to officials, the prime minister is expected to conduct an
aerial survey of the affected regions on Friday.
bademiyansubhanallah
India can manage flood situation on its own: UN
STAFF WRITER 10:3 HRS IST
United Nations, Oct 7 (PTI) Offering all possible help to the Indian
government in handling massive floods in its two southern states, a
top UN officials has said the country is capable of managing such
crisis on its own.
"Although the floods are extremely large they haven't so far asked for
our help. If they do we can offer what assistance we can," UN official
for Emergency Relief John Holmes told reporters here.
"It is India's sovereign right to decide whether they want or need to
ask help or not. They have a huge capacity of their own," he added.
Acknowledging that India generally handled humanitarian crises
internally, Holmes said, "it is their habit as with China to try and
deal with these issues themselves and they've been pretty good at
that".
bademiyansubhanallah
Andhra floods and strike fuel vegetable price rise in state
TNN 5 October 2009, 10:57pm IST
BERHAMPUR: Devastating floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka coupled
with the transport strike across Orissa have directly affected the
price of vegetables in the state.
The prices of almost all vegetables in Berhampur have increased about
50 to 70 per cent during a week. The wholesale businessmen attributed
the reason of the price rise to the transport strike in the state in
the past five days as well as crops damaged due to floods in southern
states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
"The supply of the green vegetables to Berhampur markets has dwindled
due to the transport strike," said a vegetable seller. Berhampur
depends heavily on farmers from different parts of Ganjam, Kandhamal,
Rayagada and Gajapati districts to meet the demand. These farmers
transport their produce by passenger buses. But due to the ongoing bus
owners' strike, the supply has been drastically reduced. "This has hit
the vegetable market hard," said Magata Pradhan, a vegetable seller at
Gata Bazar vegetable market. "Not only have the daily commuters, but
the vegetable consumers in the town also suffered immensely due to the
bus strike," said Prafulla Kumar Padhy, an engineer.
Similarly, supply of vegetables like onions, tomatoes, cabbage and
cauliflower, that regularly came in from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka,
has been stopped for the past one week. It has also led to the
increase of prices of vegetables.
"As onion crops were damaged in Andhra Pradesh and the supply was
almost stopped from the state, we now depend on Maharastra alone,"
Ganjam Chamber of Commerce president Ch Rabindra Kumar said. "This has
resulted in doubling the price of onions," said wholesaler Binod Sahu.
The price of the onions has increased by about Rs 1,000 per quintal in
a week. "When the entire country now depends on Maharastra for onions,
businessmen there are being forced to increase the price," he added.
bademiyansubhanallah
Flood-hit areas turn plague grounds
TNN 7 October 2009, 12:25pm IST
HYDERABAD: After being submerged in water for five days, Kurnool,
Krishna, Mahbubnagar, Guntur, East Godavari and Kadapa districts are
now the possible breeding grounds for cholera, malaria and acute
diarrhoea diseases. With medical teams unable to reach interior parts
of the flood-hit districts, observers say that a health calamity could
break out if people across these regions were not given preventive
medicines.
State health authorities fear outbreak of diseases, as residents had
to wade through flood water, slush and mud and had no potable water to
drink. Cases of diarrhoea are already being reported in the hospitals
and doctors say that if the slush, animal carcasses are not cleared
immediately, the condition could turn worse.
"Dogs are feeding on the carcasses. Large areas remain uncleared of
the debris and bodies, which pose a real danger as infections can
spread like wildfire. We can provide treatment but cannot prevent.
Moreover, as the road connectivity is cut off, ambulances are unable
to reach the worst-hit Kurnool district," said a health team worker at
Mahbubnagar's Alampur area. While chlorine tablets and bleaching
powder packets are being distributed by health teams, such exercise is
limited to only accessible areas. A doctor from the Kurnool Medical
College requesting anonymity said that while he along with his team
was supposed to have reached the interior parts on Tuesday, they were
unable to do so because of unfavourable conditions.
State officials claim they are gearing up to prevent the spread of the
infection on a war footing. But health officials admit that in Kurnool
and Mahbubnagar, the government machinery itself is not active as they
have themselves been hit due to the floods. State health officials
said that about 150 medical teams were deployed in the flood-hit
districts.
bademiyansubhanallah
It's flood of joy in Kadapa
TNN 6 October 2009, 03:06am IST
KADAPA: At a time when the people of Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Kurnool,
Krishna and Guntur districts are hit hard by unprecedented floods, the
story is different in Kadapa where people are happy at the sight of
the overflowing Kundu river as it would benefit crops in the coming
rabi season.
"We had seen floods in the past too. There is no damage either to
human or animal life. This flood will benefit us immensely as the
ground water level will rise rapidly, which would be useful for both
drinking as well as farming purposes," Rama Rayudu, a farmer of
Railway Koduru mandal, said on Monday.
Another ryot, Jangaiah of Chapadu mandal, said the flood waters have
brought cheer on their faces. "We can breathe easy now. Our crops
would not wither," he said. In fact, people of some of the mandals
which were waterlogged because of Kundu flood refuse to move to safer
places when the authorities pleaded with them.
The Kundu river which flows through Nossam in Kurnool district entered
Kadapa on Saturday and on Sunday its inflows increased to 80,000
cusecs. By Monday noon it reached 1.10 lakh cusecs posing danger to 25
villages. Nearly 60,000 people in Peddamudiayam, Rajapalem, Chapadu,
Duvvuru and Proddatur mandals were affected by the floods.
Sources said the Kundu flood has already ravaged crops like paddy,
jowar, cereals, sunflower and cotton in about 4,000 acres. Meanwhile,
Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy took a boat ride to console the
villagers in the flood-affected areas in the district. With district
officials in tow in six boats, Jagan visited Palaru village in
Peddamandiyam mandal and Nemalladinne village which were submerged
under flood waters.
bademiyansubhanallah
Cop's 'dam burst' alarm triggers stampede
TNN 5 October 2009, 04:04am IST
KURNOOL: Floodwater may have started to abate, but the rumour mill is
in full force. Three persons were hurt in a stampede in the pilgrim
centre of Mantralayam after rumours spread like wild fire on Sunday
evening that the Tungabhadra dam had burst at Hospet bordering
Karnataka and another round of water surge was on the way.
The rumours reached the beleaguered Kurnool town also where hundreds
of panic-stricken families already on the edge rushed to the bus
stand. Several others ran helter-skelter in both Kurnool and
Mantralayam.
It all started when a senior police officer — deputy superintendent of
police of Adoni, Krishnamurthy — camping in Mantralayam went around
the town announcing on a public address system that the dam had burst
and that people should start vacating the area. “It’s still not clear
as to what made the senior cop act so irresponsibly in this hour of
tragedy. May be, he was also under great tension and tended to believe
whatever information he got,” sources said. On learning about the
police announcement, people fearing for their lives ran.
In Kurnool, thousands made a dash to Jagannathpahad — a hillock on the
outskirts of town on the Bangalore route — to take shelter. “Having
seen the worst, nobody was willing to believe that everything was
hunky dory. People are very edgy after being at the receiving end of a
devastating flood in the last few days. The slightest provocation was
enough to push them over the edge,” said Balarami Reddy, a Kurnool
resident. On Saturday too, Kurnool residents had run up the
Jagannathpahad in large numbers to escape the floodwaters.
Official announcements later that there was no threat to the dam
structure at Hospet and an appeal to the people not to believe in
rumours, fell on deaf ears.
Efforts to contact the Kurnool collector Mukesh Meena and SP Ch
Srikanth to confirm the ‘stampede deaths’ at Mantralayam however
proved futile. When contacted, principal secretary to chief minister
Jannat Hussain said that the government could not confirm the stampede
but agreed that some announcements had triggered off panic
reactions.
bademiyansubhanallah
Elichetla dibba, Jinkapalem, Brahmamga
Thousands still stranded in flood waters
Flood victims rush for food packets being dropped from an Indian Air
Force helicopter at a village in Mehaboobnagar. APVK
Rajesh Reddy/Ch Ram Gopal Sastry
First Published : 07 Oct 2009 02:21:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 07 Oct 2009 11:07:33 AM IST
VIJAYAWADA: Several villages in Krishna and Guntur districts continued
to be under a heightened threat of further submergence with the volume
and speed of Krishna flood waters increasing with each passing hour.
The government claimed flood threat no longer existed for the State
but the fact is 573 villages in Krishna, Guntur, Nalgonda, Kurnool and
Mahaboobnagar districts remain marooned. The discharge from Nagarjuna
Sagar into the Krishna river has come down to 5.5 lakh cusecs.
However, in Krishna district, the flood waters continue to wreak havoc
with fragile bunds unable to withstand the pressure of swirling waters
and caving in. In villages in Avanigadda, and Nagayalanka and Koduru
mandals, the river has found its way into the villages, cutting the
embankment.
About 12 villages in Avanigadda, Nagayalanka, Mopidevi, Challapalli
and Ghantasala mandals have been inundated and the water level has
been rising. The entire area adjoining Puligadda aqueduct has been
submerged up to 70 per cent.
A breached embankment near Viswanathapalli in Koduru mandal is still
inundating the village.
Edurumondi, Elichetla dibba, Jinkapalem, Brahmamgari Mula and
Gollamanda in Nagayalanka mandal lay submerged, with only the roof
tops being visible. It is estimated that almost 5,000-7,000 people are
stuck in these villages.
A major breach to the embankment near Oleru village in Guntur district
led to flooding of almost 30 villages by this evening. Though outflows
have come down from Nagarjuna Sagar, the flow of water is unlikely to
come down in Krishna downstream of Prakasam Barrage till another day
passes. The already weak bund started to give away by around 12.30
a.m, inundating Oleru. Subsequently, locals informed Minister Mopidevi
Venkataramana who came along with around 100 people to save the bund.
A similar situation exits in the rest of the flood-hit 39 villages in
the district. About 1,500 people, who had trekked up a hill in
Bellamkonda four days ago, still remain there without food and water.
chhotemianinshallah
US announces $100,000 aid for India's flood victims
Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, October 08, 2009
First Published: 17:47 IST(8/10/2009)
Last Updated: 17:49 IST(8/10/2009)
The US on Thursday announced $100,000 aid for the victims of recent
floods in parts of southern and western India.
"The heart-breaking personal loss, the destruction of homes and
property, and the loss of cattle and crops have been devastating,” US
ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer said while announcing the aid.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families
during this time of great loss and tragedy,” he said.
Heavy rain and floods have inundated many parts of Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Maharashtra killing over 200 people and leaving millions
homeless.
Over the past seven years, the US has given over $16 million for
various disaster management activities in India.
The US agencies have worked in partnership with Indian disaster
experts to share knowledge and expertise, improve disaster
preparedness, and protect most vulnerable citizens.
chhotemianinshallah
The tide never seems to turn
October 07, 2009
First Published: 21:56 IST(7/10/2009)
Last Updated: 01:48 IST(8/10/2009)
The jury is still out on whether the 600 per cent above normal
rainfall, which led to the widespread floods in Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka, was due to climate change. No matter what the final verdict
is, there’s no denying the fact that the Centre and two state
governments have been caught napping once again. The result: more than
300 people have been killed, 1.5 million have been displaced and
property worth Rs 16,500 crore has been damaged.
The scale of devastation could turn out to be much more once the
relief commissioners release their figures. Along with the loss of
lives and property, standing crops of paddy, onion and sugarcane have
been damaged. This will push up prices. In the midst of a festive
season and a recession-hit year, this is bad news for everyone.
Two issues are evident from the crisis: first, there’s a lack of
transparency about how we manage our dams, and second, the
communication failure between the two states and the Centre.
The Central Water Commission chairman has already pointed out that
Andhra Pradesh was told in 1990 to increase the spillway capacity of
the Srisailam dam from 13.5 lakh to 25 lakh cusecs. They sat on the
report and when Karnataka released freshwater from Almatti dam to save
its own towns, the inflows exceeded 25 lakh cusecs.
Will we ever get to know why, for 19 years, Andhra Pradesh sat on this
directive? Or whether there was any communication between Andhra and
Karnataka before the latter released water? If there was any, then why
was no proactive measure taken to ensure that loss of life and
property is minimised? We can be sure that very little of this
information will ever be available in the public domain.
Likewise, why is it that there’s no information available to the
public on the daily inflow and outflows of the dams or about those who
are responsible for managing them? Moreover, when a short-term
rainfall forecast was available, why wasn’t it taken into account to
anticipate the crisis?
Hazards in India get converted to disasters far too easily. These
floods are no different. As floodwaters recede, there will be an
outbreak of diseases and a drinking water crisis. These need to be
tackled on a war footing and as a priority.
However, as long as the answers to the above questions, and more,
remain unanswered, we are certain to get caught on the wrong foot
again in the future.
Sid Harth
India flood victims find destruction
Story Highlights
Survivors of India's torrential rains start thinking about rebuilding
their lives
Some are angry at perceived inaction by government
But military and non-government groups are overwhelmed
Survivor: There's nothing to eat, no water to drink ... no sanitation,
no power
October 7, 2009 -- Updated 2155 GMT (0555 HKT)Next Article in World »
Read VIDEO
By Sara Sidner
CNN
HYDERABAD, India (CNN) -- A blanket of water hides the devastation
underneath it. Miles and miles of villages, small cities, and farmland
are spoiled by standing flood water.
An Indian Air Force relief mission drops supplies to survivors in the
flooded region.
First the waters raged for days, then they seemed to pull back almost
as fast as they came but the damage had been done with such fury that
more than 1.5 million were left homeless.
"Everything was drowned," flood victim Mohammed Farooq Basha said.
"The water came to the second floor we called for help. No one came."
He lives in Kurnool where more than 200,000 people were trapped when
the water suddenly surrounded the town in Andhra Pradesh.
For two days he and his family survived without food or water until
the floodwater receded freeing them, he told CNN. "We were hungry,
thirsty. The child got a fever."
But they lived. Now he is back sitting in front of his home trying to
put his life back in order. It means removing the thick mud that has
attached itself to everything in his home.
He is not the only one toughing it out and trying to reverse the
effects of the worst flooding here in decades.
"I am completely devastated," 50-year-old Ramaya said.
Like many he lost not only his home but his business. All the dahl --
lentils that are a staple of the Indian diet -- he had prepared to
sell were spoiled by the grayish brown flood waters.
He did not mince words when asked about aid to flood victims. "Nobody
has come to help. Nobody," he said. "No drinking water, no clothes,
nothing for four of five days."
But there are efforts being made. On the ground the government camps
are visible in some villages. In the air the Indian Air Force
helicopters have been dropping supplies for days, never mind making
intensely dangerous rescue missions in the first few days.
Some people were stuck in trees including a family of four, Indian Air
Force Helicopter Pilot P.K. Chugh said. "They were stuck on the
branches of the trees for two days without food or water ... no sleep.
Just imagine yourself sitting on a branch without sleep, food, water."
Aid workers from both local and international non-governmental
organizations are also in the area trying to help. But with so many
people in need of food, water and shelter the needs are way beyond
what is being done. Watch as relief efforts continue »
Besides the humanitarian toll there is an economic one too. The floods
have damaged hundreds of kilometers of crops in the two southern
states.
In India 60 percent of the working population relies directly on the
land to make a living and another 10 percent indirectly, economists
say. In both Karnatak and Andhra Pradesh vegetable crops have been
badly hit and not only by the floods.
India has also suffered droughts in many states this year. The brutal
combination has created higher food prices and threatens to impact
India's economy as a whole.
But for those caught in the extreme weather the concerns are all about
survival.
Back in Kurnool, Padmawati sits rubbing the mud off utensils and
worries where she will get her next meal and if there will there be
any clean water to wash it down.
"There is nothing to eat, no water to drink, there is no sanitation
and no power."
Sid Harth
PM visits AP, announces Rs 1,000 cr for flood relief
STAFF WRITER 18:26 HRS IST
Hyderabad, Oct 9 (PTI) Describing the unprecedented floods in Andhra
Pradesh as a national calamity in its own way, Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh today announced an immediate advance of Rs 1,000 crore towards
relief and rehabilitation works in the state.
Ahead of his visit to the affected areas in BJP-ruled Karnataka
tomorrow, he also ruled out any discrimination by the Centre in
extending support in tackling the flood situation.
Addressing a press conference after an aerial survey of the affected
areas in Kurnool, Krishna, Mehboobnagar and other districts, he said
the Centre stands ready to assist the state in every possible way.
"The Central government stands behind the state government in meeting
the grave challenge of the unprecedented tragedy that has befallen the
five districts. Money will not a constraint," he said.
chhotemianinshallah
Focus shifts to relief distribution as water recedes
Press Trust of India / Hyderabad October 10, 2009, 12:54 IST
With the flood water receding from all towns and villages in the worst-
affected districts of Andhra Pradesh, the focus of the government has
now shifted to speedy distribution of relief even as the victims
started returning home.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made an aerial survey for the second day
today and inspected flood-hit parts of Mahbubnagar and Kurnool
districts enroute to Karnataka.
A team of officials from the Centre will visit the affected parts of
the state soon to assess the damage, officials here said.
"We have started distributing rice in Krishna, Guntur, Kurnool and
Mahbubnagar districts. Special arrangements have been made for
providing drinking water through tankers while additional teams of
sanitation workers have been sent to Kurnool and other towns for
cleaning up the slush," an official of the Disaster Management
Department here said.
With the fear of cholera and other viral diseases high -- as most
villages remained water-logged for more than five days -- medical
teams have been put on extra alert to check spread of epidemics.
In Bandi Atmakuru in Kurnool district, there was a minor stampede as
flood victims scrambled for relief supplies today. One person
sustained injuries in the incident and police had to use canes to
bring the situation under control.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu has thanked the
Prime Minister for the Rs 1000 crore central assistance to the state
and pleaded for more funds keeping in view the magnitude of the
devastation.
chhotemianinshallah
Central teams to assess flood damage
Special Correspondent
Rosaiah to undertake two-day tour of affected areas from today
HYDERABAD: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Chief Minister K.
Rosaiah, after undertaking an aerial survey of Mahabubnagar and
Kurnool districts on Saturday that Central teams would be constituted
immediately and sent for assessment of flood damage in Andhra Pradesh.
Money was no constraint for restoration of flood-hit areas, Dr. Singh
told the Chief Minister and directed the government to be ready with
detailed sector-wise damage to enable the Central teams assess the
loss effectively. This was disclosed by Mr. Rosaiah to press persons
after seeing off Dr. Singh at the Begumpet airport. The Prime Minister
said the State government could also seek assistance from Central
government departments through proper schemes.
Relief work in full swing
The disaster management capabilities of the State and commitment of
the official machinery in taking up relief work were appreciated by
the Prime Minister, Mr. Rosaiah, who accompanied Dr. Singh on his
aerial survey, said.
The Chief Minister postponed his field visit to the flood-affected
areas saying he did not want to cause any disruption to relief work.
He would undertake a tour on Sunday of Alampur and Mantralayam in
Kurnool where relief operations were going on with large deployment of
officers, sanitary inspectors and sanitation workers.
He would stay back in Kurnool on Sunday night and visit Nandyal the
following day. He would also visit Repalle, Avanigadda and Koduru on
Monday and reach Vijayawada for overnight stay. He would interact with
people and people’s representatives during his visit.
Asked whether the sum of Rs.1,000 crore announced by the Prime
Minister towards flood relief was sufficient, Mr. Rosaiah said this
was the first time the State had received such a huge and immediate
aid apart from announcement of flood fury in the State as a national
calamity. He said the government had requested the Central teams to
postpone their visit as the State machinery was fully engaged in flood
relief activity.
chhotemianinshallah
‘State failure in flood control exposed’
S. Nagesh Kumar
TDP, TRS show CWC reports; State presents different picture before
Manmohan
HYDERABAD: After the flood waters have abated, a torrent of
accusations has begun against the government’s failure to respond to
the Central Water Commission’s warnings about the impending
catastrophe in the Tungabhadra.
In complete contrast, the government presented to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on Friday totally different reasons for the disaster
and even patted itself for the success of its strategy in managing
water flow from the reservoirs and evacuating lakhs of people before
their villages were submerged.
The Telugu Desam Party circulated the CWC’s flood forecast reports for
Mantralayam, the temple town on the banks of Tungabhadra. These
reports on September 30 and October 1 warned that the water would
exceed the danger level of 312 metres. Ultimately, Tungabhadra crossed
even the high flood level of 315.80 metres, heaping sorrow on the
famous temple town while the Kurnool district administration remained
indifferent.
The TDP and the TRS also handed out copies of BBC’s interview with CWC
chairman Arun Kumar Bajaj in which he stated that the floods could
have been avoided if crucial warnings about Srisailam dam’s
maintenance were heeded by the government. “On October 2, we had
passed on the forecast to the government that they could expect more
than two million cusecs of water (Srisailam’s capacity is 1.3 million
cusecs). But we can only advise. We cannot force State governments to
do what they do not want to do.”
Chief Minister K. Rosaiah informed Dr. Singh at their meeting in Raj
Bhavan that the floods were caused by a low pressure system remaining
stationary and emptying of heavy water load over a very small area in
Mahabubnagar and Kurnool. It gave no lead time – just about six hours
to Kurnool. The resulting floods could not be controlled in the
absence of a reservoir between this area and Srisailam.
During the four days that it poured, rain gauges in the two districts
recorded four to seven times the normal rainfall. Both Tungabhadra and
Hundri discharged massive quantities of water into the Krishna, but
the pressure backwards from Srisailam dam obstructed their flow
resulting in flooding of Kurnool. Mr. Rosaiah said his government
promptly created an expert group, prepared real time worst and best
case scenarios, continuously consulted a battery of experts and
ordered patrolling by Water User Associations which prevented eight
possible breaches.
Catastrophe
Without touching upon any of the contentious issues now in public
domain, he admitted that the catastrophe held out some lessons in
flood management – climate change would result in intense rainfall
over a very short period, dam safety wings must be created in every
State and flood storage dams built in every river basin.
bademiyansubhanallah
Sangh Samachar
Flood in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa
Massive relief operation by Sewa Bharati, VHP and ABVP
October18, 2009
Concerned over the worsening flood situation and human crisis in
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa, the Sewa Bharati,
Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad workers
plunged into action immediately and started relief operation with the
available resources. They initiated relief process by bringing
together and collaborating with various NGOs and individual
philanthropists for a coordinated effort to use the resources in the
better manner.
Relief operation in Andhra Pradesh
The swayamsevaks started distributing food packets brought by their
fellow volunteers from the neighboring villages and districts. They
supplied food packets to over one lakh families in three districts of
Andhra Pradesh for 3 days reaching the interior rural areas of Karnool
and Mahaboob Nagar. Since the connectivity to Karnool was cut off,
material was brought in from Anantapur, Kadapa, Nellore and Raichure
of Karnataka.
The workers started the relief camps in Karnool town at Saraswati
Sishu Mandir and G Pulla Reddy Engineering College. They supplied
thousands of food and water packets to Karnool. Volunteers from Adoni
went to Mantralaya cleaned the Mantralaya Temple and cleared the dead
bodies of cows of Goshala and other animals. Many of the dead are
piligrims to Mantrala Temple. The swayamsevaks removed these bodies
and handed over to the police.
In Hindupur, the swayamsevaks started five food preparation and
collection centres to support the victims immediately on October 3 to
be sent to Karnool district. In Anantapur, the swayamsevaks started a
food collection centre with an intention of sending 10,000 food
packets. With an overwhelming response from the people of Anantapur,
the centre could prepare 50,000 packets and other material worth 5
lakh sent for the needy in Karnool district. In Dronachalam (Dhone),
they sent 50,000 food packets and one lakh water packets to Karnool.
Volunteers from Nandikotkur went into the villages, which went under
water and rescued 45 families and brought them to safe place and
provided food. In Gadwal, a relief Camp was conducted at TTD Kalyana
Mandapam. Food packets were supplied to 200 villages.
In Hyderabad, 2000 swayamsevaks collected funds, food materials for
flood affected. Two collection centres were established at State
headquarters of RSS and Keshav Memorial School. Everyday four truck
loads of food material, two truck loads of other immediate necessities
were sent to the flood affected areas. 200 volunteers rushed to the
affected areas to join the hygiene and sanitation work from the city.
Sri Raghavulu, national secretary of VHP, visited the affected areas
and met the volunteers involved in the work in Karnool. Sri TV
Deshmukh, Prant Sanghachalak and state organising secretary of Sewa
Bharati Sri Vidwan Reddy visited Gadwal relief camp and met the
volunteers working in Mahaboob Nagar.
In second phase, the swayamsevaks surveyed the affected areas of
Mahaboob Nagar district and found that 58 villages were badly
destroyed and 16,000 families of many other villages were devastated.
The immediate requirement of these families was to settle down their
daily chores. Hence the workers planned to supply the kits to 5000
families, which enabled them to start off their living. Each kit
consisted of kitchen utensils, food grains and material of daily use.
In Karnool district, 250-300 villages are still under water hence the
survey was not completed. As far as Karnool town is concerned, it is
slowly returning to normalcy. Around Karnool town 29 villages have
been severely affected. The swayamsevaks surveyed and serviced 20
villages around Karnool town. They are planning to undertake similar
steps to supply daily life supporting kits to the people to start
their daily routine once we have the final statistics.
The swayamsevaks have already initiated planning for rehabilitation of
the devastated people and reconstruction of the destroyed villages.
They identified various means of rehabilitation of people like
supplying them implements required for their occupation. In this
process, the swayamsevaks are having coordinated efforts with many
other voluntary, social, cultural and spiritual organisations.
Some of the organisations currently working with the swayamsevaks in
flood relief and rehabilitation process included Vande Mataram
Foundation, Gayatri Pariwar, Help for Needy, Sanskriti Foundation and
Bharati Vikas Parishad.
Flood relief in Vijayawada
A temporary relief centre, estabhlished at Indira Gandhi Stadium in
Vijayawada, was meeting the immediate necessities of nearly 5,000
people and provided break fast, milk for the children and fruits. Sri
Mangesh Bhinde, Kshetra Pracharak, Sri N Ravi, president of Jan
Sankshema Samithi visited the relief camp and guided the swayamsevaks.
Nearly 200 swayamsevaks are already plunged into service activities.
Sri G Gangaraju Garu is personally supervising the camp.
Relief operation in Karnataka
Raichur and Manvi taluks were the worst affected in Karnataka because
of the overflowing of Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers. The swayamsevaks
started relief work on October 3. The first day itself more than 6000
food packets were prepared and handed over to government machinery to
supply by helicopter to the people stranded in the floods. On October
4, another 6000 food packets were distributed to the people of three
villages camping at Ganadal village. On October 5 onwards the relief
camps were started at Chickmanchali, Nadugaddemalakapur, Tungabhadra
villages, which are on the Banks of River Tungabhadra.
Bagalkot District
40 villages of Hungund and Badami taluks were worst affected due to
flooding of Malaprabha River. Houses collapsed due to heavy rains all
over the district. Relief works like food distribution; medical
facilities were started in several villages by the swayamsevaks. On
October 3, about 30000 chapatis were collected in Bagalkot and were
distributed in 6 affected villages. On October 5 and 6, the
swayamsevaks and some collage students guided by senior Sangh
swayamsevaks started relief operation in 28 villages. Food
distribution and survey work was taken up.
Belgaum District
On the same day the RSS activists collected Rs 60,000, two tonne
chapattis, one quintal dal, plastic sheets of 60,000 were purchased
and distributed to 500 families in Saddatti taluka. 19 karyakartas
from Belgaum city went to Ramdurg, Savdatti and Bailhongal taluka for
2 days to monitor the relief work.
A total of 76 swayamsevaks worked for three days and arranged Ganji
Kendra (langar) in seven villages in Ramdurg taluka and two places in
Ramdurg city for three days where more than 12,000 people were served
food and also distributed plastic sheets for 250 houses and 170 houses
in Sureban village of Ramdurg taluka. In Savdatti taluka Ganji Kendra
ran for three days at six places wherein 3000 people were served food.
Also, 20 swayamsevaks worked in the Ganji Kendra run by other social
organisations. A total of 230 karyakartas worked for 3 days in Ramdurg
taluka and more than 100 swayamsevaks in Savdatti taluka. Five doctors
are working in the affected areas of both the talukas and distributing
medicines.
Gadag District
Releif work was started on October 4 in Holealur, Nargund, Mundargi,
Magadi and Vaasan. Food was prepared and distributed to 2600 people
daily for three days. About 15 swayamsevaks of Magadi village repaired
the damaged road between Gojanur and Akkigonda village.
The ABVP karyakartas also plunged into action and distributed
medicines, food packets and drinking water in many affected areas of
Karnataka. Throughout the state, they are raising funds, collecting
clothes and other required materials from the society and sending them
to the people in the flood-affected areas. A flood relief camp has
been put up by them in the affected areas to respond to the urgent
need of the flood victims.
The VHP announced a massive relief operation for Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Goa. It is running 39 relief centres in Karnool and 15
in Mehbubnagar. Around 1.5 lakh food packets have already been
distributed by October 4. More than 500 VHP workers are already at
these centres. Rice, wheat, medicines and anti-fungal lotions/creams,
sarees, towels, sheets, blankets and other clothes, tents, sukhdi,
daal, kitchen kits and ready-to-eat biscuits and other food packets
are also being sent to the affected areas.
chhotemianinshallah
Rs 6,000 crore sought as temporary relief
TNN 19 October 2009, 09:59pm IST
KONGAWAD (Dharwad): Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa has said that the
state government will request Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to release
Rs 6,000 crore as temporary relief amount for flood relief and
rehabilitation works in the northern parts of Karnataka.
Speaking to reporters here on Monday, after laying the foundation
stone for the relocation of Kongawad village in Navalgund taluk of
Dharwad district, Yeddyurappa said the government had earlier sought
an assistance of Rs. 10,000 crore and now in addition to that it was
seeking Rs 6,000 crore as temporary relief. He said that an all-party
delegation would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday and
apprise him of the situation in the flood-affected villages.
Replying to a query, the CM said: "After the aerial survey, the PM is
convinced of the need for immediate assistance to the flood-affected
areas in Karnataka and has assured him of all necessary assistance. We
believe his words."
Yeddyurappa said that the PM had announced an immediate relief of Rs
1,000 crore and the state government had from its side released Rs
1,000 crore towards relief works.
The CM said that already several philanthropic organizations,
individuals and entrepreneurs had come forward to join hands with the
state government in the construction of houses in several of the flood-
affected villages. "I am hopeful of getting help from various quarters
of the society for construction of houses in all the 226 flood-prone
villages in the state," he said.
He said the government would require around Rs 600 to 700 crore for
creating adequate infrastructure in the villages to be relocated,
which would have all the amenities of a township. The CM said there
were several problems and added that the government would solve them
by taking the opposition parties into confidence.
The CM will tour affected villages again after returning from New
Delhi. The decision on the winter session will be taken in the next
cabinet meeting.
He appealed to the farmers not to take the extreme step of committing
suicide, as it was not a solution to the problem.
Regarding the relocation of Hole Mannur village, for which the
foundation stone for which was laid almost a year ago, the CM said
that the work would begin immediately.
chhotemianinshallah
Big names chip in to help build 60,000 houses
TNN 19 October 2009, 09:57pm IST
HUBLI: The corporate world has come out to help flood victims of north
Karnataka. Big names in the Indian corporate world like Cisco,
Infosys, Dell, Microsoft, HAL, GMR, Essar and Coffee Day have willed
to fund the construction of around 60,000 houses in flood-ravaged
districts.
"This crisis has thrown up an opportunity for the corporate leaders to
work with the government in providing shelter to the homeless," said
Rajya Sabha member and state coordinator for permanent rehabilitation
Rajeev Chandrashekar. He was here to participate in the foundation
stone laying ceremony of the shifting of Kongwad village in Dharwad
district. Sri Kshetra Dharmastala rural development project is
building 450 houses here, while the government provides infrastructure
facilities.
"We have already got a commitment of 60,000 houses. CM B S Yeddyurappa
would like to see us fund one lakh houses. We are exploring all
options to reach the ambitious target," Chandrashekar said. After
Abide, this is his second assignment with the state government. Now he
is facilitating the private sectors interaction with the government in
rehabilitation. "The response has been very encouraging," he added.
The entrepreneur legislator plans to build 1,000 houses in Bagalkot
district, at the cost of Rs 10 crore. He has also released money from
his MP fund to the CM's welfare fund. "Many companies are willing to
help. Big names have assured us of their help. Cisco for example, has
committed to building 4,000 houses, two schools and a hospital in
flood affected districts. This will be amongst the largest
philanthropic projects with public private partnership in the
country," he said.
Rajeev Chandrashekar told `The Times of India' on Monday, that each
house would be built on an area of 1,500 square feet and would cost Rs
1 lakh. Each would be a pucca RCC house with the necessary amenities.
According to him, the cost of the houses can be further pushed down as
the scale of construction is high. "We could negotiate with the steel
and cement companies and bring down the cost of inputs," he said.
"The quality of construction will be closely monitored. We are trying
to have a third-party assessor, apart from the government and the
contributing private sector company, he said.
chhotemianinshallah
Mantralaya devotees recount ordeal
Vinay Lokesh, TNN 18 October 2009, 10:14pm IST
Bellary: Around 400 people from Karur village of Siruruppa taluk took
out a padayatra from Karur to Mantralaya, which is 120 km from the
village.
This is part of their annual ritual which they have been practising
for the last 14 years. All these years, they returned from Mantralaya
with a smile, the only exception being this year - they had to face
the adversity of Nature in the God's abode.
The drizzling on the morning of September 30, the day villagers took
out the padayatra, was not a dampener for them. But on October 1, the
Rain God wreaked havoc, so much so that they did not get even a drop
of water to drink, let alone food. They had to spend time atop
restaurants, hotels and temples due to the incessant rain.
Nagraj Reddy, one of the members of the contingent, said one helpless
woman from Bangalore was in dire need of biscuits to feed her child.
"She offered me lakhs for a pack of biscuits," he said, adding he was
of little help then.
"The helicopter came here twice but it did not give us food material.
It airlifted only the swamji, leaving over 1,000 devotees in the
troubled waters," he said.
Another member Vasudeva Reddy said they survived on coconut during the
ordeal. Prakash Reddy, another devotee, said they did not mind braving
the floods for food. "We swam through the flood waters using cables
and tree branches. We broke the shutters of hotels and bakeries for
bread and biscuits," he said, adding: "We returned to our village on a
lorry on October 3, only to find our crops destroyed due to the
downpour."
chhotemianinshallah
Tarsh Charitable Trust to build 50-60 houses
TNN 18 October 2009, 10:49pm IST
BIJAPUR: Bangalore-based Tarsh Charitable Trust will adopt one of the
flood-affected villages in the district and build nearly 50-60 houses
there.
Trustee and MLC Abdul Aziz said the houses will be constructed with
the help of local leaders.
The trust has already donated Rs 50 lakh to CM's Flood Relief Fund.
Meanwhile, Syndicate Bank donated material worth Rs 10 lakh for the
affected families in Bijapur and Bagalkot.
The bank staff visited the flood affected villages to distribute
relief materials. The bank has selected around 1,600 affected families
in Satihal, Gudadinni, Hunashyal, Budani villages in Bijapur district
and Mangalagudda and Chimmalagi villages in Bagalkot district for
carrying out relief work.
bademiyansubhanallah
Foodgrain output to decline by 11mn tonnes: PMEAC
Posted On Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Agencies
New Delhi Oct 21:
Deficient monsoon and widespread drought will pull down the food
grains output by 11 million tonnes during the current financial year,
Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) said today.
With drought hitting about half of the country, the Council said total
output of the agriculture and allied sector will decline by 2 per cent
against growth of 1.6 per cent in the last fiscal.
"The final change in annual farm output works out to -2 per cent...It
is expected that the total food grain production in 2009-10 will drop
to 223 million tonnes from 234 million tonnes in 2008-09," the PMEAC
said today in Economic Outlook for 2009-10.
Oilseed output, too, may decline by six million tonnes to 276 million
tonnes this season, the report added.
Worse still, the council said the country might have achieved a growth
rate of at least four per cent in the agriculture sector had there
been adequate rains this year.
"The outcome of a negative 2 per cent (growth) should be contrasted
with a possible 4 per cent or higher growth that would have resulted
had the monsoon of 2009 been normal," the report said.
Agriculture, which contributes about 18 per cent to the overall gross
domestic product of the country, would perform 7 per cent below its
potential this fiscal due to poor monsoon, it added.