Central team visits Vellore, nearby districts

Officials say crops grown on 32,887.61 hectares were damaged; the total loss is estimated at ₹29.44 crore

An inter-Ministerial Central team visited several flood-hit areas in Vellore and Ranipet districts on Tuesday to assess the damage.

Officials said crops such as paddy, ragi, maize, red gram, groundnut, cotton and tapioca, spread over 32,887.61 hectares in Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur and Tiruvannamalai districts, were damaged in the rain as of November 23. Of these, paddy alone covers 90% of the total affected crops in these districts. Paddy, spread over 28,751 hectares, millets (804.45 hectares), bhendi (92.21 hectares) and groundnuts (47.65 hectares) were damaged. “Some of the most affected agricultural areas include Nemeli, Thimiri and Arcot where paddy has been cultivated widely for the second season in the year. The total loss incurred due to the rain is estimated at ₹29.44 crore,” D. Bhasakara Pandian, Collector, Ranipet, told The Hindu.

Tiruvannmalai alone accounted for 24,018 hectares of paddy that was affected, followed by Ranipet (2,342 hectares). Vellore was the least affected region with a loss of 341.04 hectares of paddy.