Surat floods: Farmers’ plans come a cropper
The farmers near the flood-hit Surat have reasons enough to worry. The man-made disaster has caused heavy damage to the sugarcane, paddy and banana crops grown near the river-side in Surat.
By Mitul Thakkar & Mansi Bhatt, TNN |
SURAT/AHMEDABAD: The farmers near the flood-hit Surat have reasons enough to worry. The man-made disaster has caused heavy damage to the sugarcane, paddy and banana crops grown near the river-side in Surat.
“The floods have completely washed away the sugarcane crop in our farms,” said Chandrakant Patel a farmer from Umarchhi, a village near Surat. The banana harvest has been the worst-affected due to flood.
The crops in most of the nearby villages which includes Kathod, Amroli, Katar Gam, Umarchhi, Katcho, Vadoli and many others have been completely damaged. The total crop damage has yet to be ascertained. “We will be surveying the flood-hit farms. But the total crop damage in these areas will be ascertained only after four-five days when the water levels recede,” said an official in the state agriculture ministry.
Many farmers in the villages near Surat have also lost their cattles. “All our cattle’s are lost. We have to buy milk from the market at double the cost. Our crops have also been damaged but we have no hope of receiving due compensation from the government,” rues Babu Patel, a farmer from village on the outskirts of Surat.
On Thursday, the water inflow reduced to 4.9 lakh cusecs, while the outflow reached 5.5 lakh cusecs. But the receding water has given no respite to the farmers, as many farms are still submerged in 3-7 feet of water.
“The damage to the harvest in the plain fields in much less than that near the rivers. While the yield of sugarcane crop is expected to be lower then normal, the banana plantations might be completely damaged,” said Mr Ahlawat of the Navsari Agriculture University. As the kharif season is over, from September the farmers can later grow castor and ground-nut in these areas, he said.
While the crops in Surat have been worst-affected, the damage to the crops in Anand, Kheda and Ahmedabad has been relatively low. “We have surveyed these three areas and so far, the paddy-growing regions have not been affected.
But a few areas cultivating cotton, pulses and groundnut have suffered,” says Vishnu Varshney of Anand Agriculture University. The AAU surveyed these crops in these three locations for the government of Gujarat.
“The floods have completely washed away the sugarcane crop in our farms,” said Chandrakant Patel a farmer from Umarchhi, a village near Surat. The banana harvest has been the worst-affected due to flood.
The crops in most of the nearby villages which includes Kathod, Amroli, Katar Gam, Umarchhi, Katcho, Vadoli and many others have been completely damaged. The total crop damage has yet to be ascertained. “We will be surveying the flood-hit farms. But the total crop damage in these areas will be ascertained only after four-five days when the water levels recede,” said an official in the state agriculture ministry.
Many farmers in the villages near Surat have also lost their cattles. “All our cattle’s are lost. We have to buy milk from the market at double the cost. Our crops have also been damaged but we have no hope of receiving due compensation from the government,” rues Babu Patel, a farmer from village on the outskirts of Surat.
On Thursday, the water inflow reduced to 4.9 lakh cusecs, while the outflow reached 5.5 lakh cusecs. But the receding water has given no respite to the farmers, as many farms are still submerged in 3-7 feet of water.
“The damage to the harvest in the plain fields in much less than that near the rivers. While the yield of sugarcane crop is expected to be lower then normal, the banana plantations might be completely damaged,” said Mr Ahlawat of the Navsari Agriculture University. As the kharif season is over, from September the farmers can later grow castor and ground-nut in these areas, he said.
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While the crops in Surat have been worst-affected, the damage to the crops in Anand, Kheda and Ahmedabad has been relatively low. “We have surveyed these three areas and so far, the paddy-growing regions have not been affected.
But a few areas cultivating cotton, pulses and groundnut have suffered,” says Vishnu Varshney of Anand Agriculture University. The AAU surveyed these crops in these three locations for the government of Gujarat.
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