Rains drench Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga

Several parts of Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga and Hassan districts received moderate to heavy rains on Sunday as well. The incessant rains in the last few days have left the farming community in dire st

Several parts of Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga and Hassan districts received moderate to heavy rains on Sunday as well. The incessant rains in the last few days have left the farming community in dire straits, as they have not been able to harvest yield. And, coffee growers are finding it difficult to dry harvested coffee beans.

Parts of N.R. Pura, Sringeri, Mudigere, Kalasa in Chikkamagaluru and Tirthahalli and other parts received heavy rains on the day. Many people affected by heavy rains have put up posts narrating their experiences. L.C. Sumithra, a resident of Tirthahalli, said it had been raining heavily continuously for hours in the town and that areca growers had not been able to harvest the crop. Similarly, those who grew paddy had left the yield in the field. Srinivas Murthy, a farmer at Mundagodu near Sringeri, said it had been heavy rains for the past few days in the taluk. The rains that lashed parts of Kalasa on Sunday, left many fields inundated.

In Hassan, many coffee growers have not been able to dry the beans. The big planters, who have installed dryer machines in their estates, can protect their yield. Some are spending money on firewood to dry the beans. With such methods, the input cost would go up, reducing the income.