By TC News Desk
Agartala, 23rd August 2024: The recent severe flooding in Tripura has resulted in damages exceeding Rs 600 Crore across the agriculture and power sectors, according to Power and Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath.
The minister reported that the agriculture sector has been hit hard by the floods. “A total of 68,826 hectares of agricultural land have been either fully or partially damaged, leading to an estimated production loss of 2.43 lakh metric tons. Preliminary assessments put the total agricultural damage at Rs 532.25 Crores, with the final figure expected to increase,” Nath stated.
He added that approximately 1,41,406 farmers have been severely affected. Notably, 4,000 hectares of jhum cultivation land have been damaged by landslides, 7,000 hectares of Ayush paddy and 1.5 lakh hectares of Aman paddy have been submerged. The minister revealed that the government has requested the National Seed Corporation to supply necessary seeds to aid recovery. In horticulture, 5,614 hectares of land have been affected, resulting in a production loss of 30.497 lakh and a financial loss of Rs 167 Crores, impacting 27,000 farmers.
The power sector has also faced significant challenges. “Out of 9,90,451 consumers in Tripura, 9,05,614 are active, and approximately 35% or 3,19,773 are affected by the outage. Currently, 1,49,000 consumers are still without power,” Nath explained. He detailed the damage as including 1,603 broken poles, 501 damaged transformers, 642 kilometers of downed wiring, and submerged 33/66 kV substations in Ampi and Jolaibari, with nine 33 kV lines also broken. The estimated damage to the power sector stands at around Rs 9.02 Crores, though this may rise further.
To address the power outages, 111 teams, each with 8 to 10 personnel, are working across the state. However, in Gomati and South Districts, severe waterlogging has hampered their efforts.
