The India Meteorological Department has predicted “partly cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers” in several districts of Andhra Pradesh till May 7.
Officials have said ten people died as unseasonal heavy rain threw life out of gear in several parts of the state. “Nine of them died when they were struck by lightning, while one person died due to the fall of a tree trunk.”
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed them to pay compensation families of eight people who died due to lightning.
According to IMD, highest rainfall of 100mm was received in Kajuluru village in Kakinada district. Heavy rainfall was also witnessed in the undivided districts of Chittoor, Prakasam, Guntur and Krishna districts till the early hours of Monday.
Managing Director of the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, Ronanki Kurmanath, said that varied weather conditions are expected to persist across the state until Wednesday, May 7. While some areas may experience heat wave, others are likely to receive rain accompanied by thunderstorms.
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Widespread damage to crops was also reported, prompting chief minister Chandrababu Naidu to issue direction to officials to undertake damage assessment and compensate farmers without delay.
Standing crops of paddy and maize in more than 2,200 hectares were damaged due to unseasonal rains that lashed Andhra Pradesh during the last two days, officials said.
Officials informed the Chief Minister that the standing crop of paddy and maize on 2,224 hectares got damaged due to the unseasonal rains.
Nearly 15 mandals in West Godavari district were worst-hit with huge damage to paddy crop in 1,033 hectares, while in Nandyal, paddy got damaged in 641 hectares, on 530 hectares in Kakinada, and 20 hectares in Satya Sai district. The officials also gave the details of horticulture crop damage to the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister held a meeting at the State Secretariat with the officials of Agriculture and Disaster Management on the incessant rains that lashed the state for two days. He directed officials to pay ex-gratia to farmers who suffered crop losses due to unseasonal rains. The Chief Minister asked the officials to assess the crop damage immediately and see to it that every farmer who suffered crop loss get the ex-gratia from the state government.
With the meteorologists forecasting more rain in some districts, Naidu asked the district Collectors and other officials to be on alert. He said that steps should be taken to ensure that there is no loss of life.
The Chief Minister, however, made it amply clear that at any cost, the grain from the farmers should be purchased. He said he will talk to the Union and take necessary measures to purchase the grain if the stocks are surplus.
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