Summary:
Millets were cultivated in 5,571 hectares and crops in 5,229 hectares had withered, he said. Most of the paddy farmers had insured their crops and the government would help all the affected farmers with adequate compensation, he said. “Paddy was cultivated in 1.22 lakh hectares in the district and the loss was almost total,” Mr.
Manikandan said adding the failure of north east monsoon had also badly hit the crops including chillies, pulses, oil seeds and millets. Mr.
Kamble, Principal Secretary, Tamil Nadu Transport Department, appointed as monitoring officer for the district said the ‘Ground Truth’ revealed that the drought due to the failure of the monsoon had severely affected the district and the loss of paddy crops was almost total. Chilli, the next major crop in the district, was cultivated in 15,022 hectares and till now, the crops in 7,217 hectares have withered, he added..