more-in The Central team that is on a visit to Kerala to assess the drought situation has concluded that the parched conditions in large parts of the State had inflicted heavy damage on the agriculture sector. The team, led by Ashwani Kumar, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Agriculture, has estimated the crop loss to be more than 50% in some areas. After a meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Friday, Mr. Kumar said the team would submit a report to the Union government based on the information gathered during the visit to various districts and the details provided by the State. “We expect to submit the report in a week after collecting some more data from the the State government,” an official press note quoting him said. While one group of officials led by Mr. Kumar had visited Palakkad, Malappuram and Wayanad districts to assess the damage to crops and the loss sustained by farmers, another team headed by NITI Aayog Deputy Adviser Manesh Choudhary took stock of the situation in Thrissur, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram districts. Mr.Kumar said the team had also assessed the impact of the drought on the drinking water and animal husbandry sectors and interacted with farmers in various districts. The team would submit its report to a national committee, which would vet the proposals and make recommendations to a high-level committee that will include Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. Mr. Kumar said the recommendations would be based on the parameters of the National Disaster Response Fund. Explaining the drought situation in the State, the Chief Minister said the worst impact would be felt in the cash crop sector. Unlike the previous years, he said, the drought had damaged crops, affected drinking water supply and led to problems in the animal husbandry sector. Cloud seeding Mr.Vijayan told the team that the government was considering the possibility of cloud seeding to trigger artificial rain, under plans to recharge the reservoirs that were running dry. He added that the government had done everything possible for drought mitigation before seeking Central assistance. Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, Water Resources Minister Mathew T. Thomas, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, Food Minister P. Thilothaman, Chief Secretary Nalini Netto and senior officials were present. The State government has submitted a proposal to the Centre, seeking an assistance of ?991 crore to deal with the severe drought conditions. Kerala had declared itself drought- hit on October 31 last, following the failure of two successive monsoons.

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