Recent floods threw normal life out of gear, created havoc in rural and tribal areas

LOHERA (ADILABAD): The recent floods following the heavy rains have thrown normal life out of gear and created havoc in both rural and tribal areas. The affected people are yet to overcome the grim situation in the erstwhile Adilabad district.

Road connectivity was badly affected in many interior villages as the floods breached roads, bridges and culverts. Hundreds of acres of standing crops were inundated in the floodwaters. The floodwater was still remaining in the agriculture fields in this region.

Distressed farmers have been forced to invest heavily in anti-weeding operations after water-logging and floods seriously affected their farms. Students’ attendance was low in government schools as their parents are not sending them to classes due to the disruptions in road connectivity and flood situation.

The two sides of the existing bridge were washed away due to floods in Ankoli village and road connectivity was affected to the villages in Chinchughat gram panchayat. The villagers are taking a risk to climb the bridge with the help of an iron ladder.

Kodapa Bheemrao of Chinchughat said the people of the region have been facing a lot of hardships since parts of the bridge were washed away in the floods.

He said some villagers were going to Adilabad via Seethagondi and many students could not go to schools.

Kodapa Bheemrao said he was taking his son Roshan to join him at the government hostel in Bangaruguda though he was supposed to be reaching there four days ago.

Farmers are in distress due to crop damage, sand casting and soil erosion in their agricultural fields following the heavy rains and floods.

Gangu Bai of Pippaldhari, sitting on a big tree that was uprooted in their agriculture field, said a standing crop in one acre was inundated out of the five acres they have cultivated this time. There was not much hope for further growth of the plants after the flooding.

Marasakola Lingu, of Lohera, said the agriculture fields on the banks of streams and rivulets were badly affected with floods inundating the standing crops. Road connectivity too was affected for nearly five villages as a part of the bridge was washed away in the floods at Lohera. The people of Hatti gutta, Salewada, Shivguda, Thippa, and Lohera SC colony in Adilabad Rural mandal were having a hard time.

Lingu said not even two-wheelers were reaching these villages after a bridge was damaged in the floods. “The people are facing a lot of hardships in taking their ration and in medical emergencies,” he said.

‘Distressed farmers who suffered crop damage have been waiting for compensation, he said and recalled that the Congress party used to pay compensation for crop damage after floods in the past. But, he did not get compensation for the crop damage in recent years, except for the Rythu Bandhu, he said, and lamented that Rythu Bandhu's assistance of Rs 11,000 for his two acres was adjusted against the crop loan that he had taken.

K. Ramesh of Ankoli said the tank water flooded his five-acre land while a standing cotton crop on two acres was inundated in the floods. Elderly Adivasi woman Marakola Gouru Bai of Lohera was seen busy with weeding in a field of standing cotton crop. She still has some hope left about the future.

The culverts suffered breaches due to the floods at various places while electric poles were uprooted. They lay bent on the ground in the rural areas.

During the ongoing assembly session, chief minister KCR enquired with Adilabad MLA Jogu Ramanna about the recent floods and crop damage in the Adilabad district. Jogu Ramanna told the CM that standing crops were damaged on 50,000 acres in the district and crop damage was high in the villages on the banks of River Penganga in Jainad, Bela, Bheempur and Tamsi mandals.