Coordinated response needed to mitigate flood crisis: Gujarat CM

Gandhinagar, Nov 4 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel toured several districts affected by the recent spell of unseasonal rainfall, meeting with farmers in the impacted villages to assess the ground reality and understand the extent of crop damage.

Following his visit, the Chief Minister chaired a high-level review meeting in Gandhinagar to evaluate the overall situation and coordinate relief measures across the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi had earlier visited Surat district, while Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani inspected the affected areas in Bhavnagar to take stock of the damage to standing crops.

During the meeting, CM Patel reviewed field reports submitted by various departments and directed officials to ensure that farmers receive timely assistance and that surveys of crop losses are completed at the earliest.

The Chief Minister emphasised a swift and coordinated response to the crisis, reiterating the state government’s full commitment to support farmers recovering from the impact of unseasonal rains.

The Agriculture Department, in coordination with other state agencies, has launched an intensive survey of the affected regions.

So far, nearly 70 per cent of the affected areas have been covered, with officials working round the clock to complete the remaining surveys.

More than 4,800 teams are currently engaged in assessing crop losses across 249 talukas and over 16,000 villages.

Last week, the Gujarat government reported that nearly 10 lakh hectares of farmland had been affected by the recent unseasonal rains.

The government has also postponed the procurement of kharif crops — including moong, soybean, groundnut, and black gram under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) scheme, which was initially scheduled to begin on November 1.

--IANS

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