PONDA: Around 500 farmers across Ponda taluka, including paddy growers and Mollekars, have reported devastating crop damage due to the heavy monsoon rains and strong winds experienced in July. These farmers have filed applications seeking compensation for the losses they incurred.
In addition to the agricultural losses, approximately 132 mud houses in various villages were either damaged or collapsed completely due to the extreme weather. The Mamlatdar’s office is currently engaged in assessing the estimated losses, with compensation for 24 house owners already approved. The remaining 90 applications have been forwarded to the Deputy Collector for further processing and compensation approval.
The estimated agricultural loss in Ponda taluka due to the heavy rainfall is around Rs 56 lakh, affecting approximately 80 to 100 hectares of farmland, including monsoon vegetable crops. The Zonal Agriculture Officers’ team is actively visiting various sites to assess the losses, with the affected farmers having lost crops such as cucumber, areca nut, paddy, and other horticulture and monsoon vegetables.
Out of more than 400 Mollekars in the taluka, 250 have reported crop losses to the Agriculture Department. The most severely impacted areas include Farmagudi, Priol, Mardol, Curti and Bethoda. Notably, many of these farmers do not hold Krishi cards and some cultivate tenanted land with permission from landlords.
According to sources at the Zonal Agriculture Office (ZAO) in Ponda, over 500 compensation applications have been received so far. Of these, approximately 156 applications, valued at Rs 26 lakh, have been cleared, with around Rs 10 lakh already disbursed to Krishi card holders. Inspections for non-Krishi card holders, particularly the Mollekars, have been completed, with their estimated losses amounting to Rs 16 lakh.