Vijayawada: Agriculture special chief secretary Budithi Rajasekhar has called for the use of technology, such as drones and remote sensing, to assess the extent of agricultural fields inundated due to incessant rains and floods.
Agriculture director S. Dilli Rao held a teleconference with all the agriculture officers in the state on Sunday to discuss the steps to be taken to protect crops following a reduction in rainfall as the depression crossed the coast. Some officials noted that the rainfall would benefit crops in the north coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema districts.
Agriculture Director S. Dilli Rao urged officials to take advantage of the rains in the north coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions to raise crops. He reported that more crops in parts of the NTR, Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Palnadu, and Eluru districts had suffered inundation, emphasising the need to inspect the crops to determine the extent of the damage and how many crops were affected. He also called for efforts to drain the inundated fields to save the crops.
Rao mentioned that rainwater from the Telangana region flowed towards low-lying areas, causing the Munneru, Kattaleru, and Budameru streams to overflow, which led to the inundation of fields. He advised officials to remain on high alert to help save the crops.
