Central team visits Bagalkot district

A delegation of Union government officers ventured into Bagalkot district on Monday to evaluate the extent of the drought's impact. Led by Man Singh, the team traversed Guledagudda, Bagalkote, Hunagunda, and Ilkal taluks, visiting farmer fields and gathering details on crop damage, sowing expenses, rainfall levels, irrigation access, and crop insurance coverage.

Secretaries Partha Pal and Rakesh Kumar accompanied the group, alongside C.B. Balareddy, an Additional Director from the Agriculture Department headquarters, and Girish R., Secretary of the Horticulture Department. Meanwhile, a distressed farmer in Bhagawati village sought compensation from a Zilla Panchayat officer, mistaking him for a member of the Central team.

Officials informed the Central team that the district had suffered economic losses of up to ₹420.6 crore due to agricultural and horticultural crop destruction. Agricultural land affected by the lack of rainfall amounted to 250,280 hectares, leading to an estimated loss of ₹342.16 crore. Horticultural crops suffered damage across 56,386 hectares, amounting to a loss of ₹78.50 crore. The combined estimated loss for both sectors totaled ₹420.66 crore.

The team also inspected the maize fields of Husenabi Dalayat, the sugarcane crop of Rudrappa Ganiger, and Basayya’s maize crop, as well as Nagappa Siddappa Guled's onion crop. Despite possessing crop insurance, the farmers reported not receiving any compensation. The team also witnessed the impact on sunflower and chilli crops, with Minister for Small Scale Industries and district in-charge Vijayanand Kashappanavar, Joint Director of Agriculture T.S. Rudreshappa, and Joint Director of Horticulture Ravindra Hakati among the attendees.