Summary:
BENGALURU: A 10-member inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) began visiting 17 drought-hit districts across Karnataka for spot assessment of the losses incurred by farmers and the people, an official said on Saturday. Kumaraswamy, in New Delhi that he would send the team to assess the damage caused by drought in17 interior and northern districts of the state. "There has been a prolonged dry spell in September, which resulted in about 50 per cent crop production loss," Deshpande said earlier. As per preliminary estimates, 15 lakh hectares of agricultural and horticultural crops have been affected, with an estimated loss of Rs 8,000 crore. "The central team will meet state officials of the departments concerned on Monday in Bengaluru for discussing the drought situation in the state for the report to be submitted to the Prime Minister's Office," the official said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 10 assured a state delegation, led by Chief Minister H.D..