Kharif Crop in Over 35 lakh Hectare Hit Due to Rain Failure

Crops in 35.41 lakh hectares in Karnataka had been damaged during the Kharif season this year due to failure of rains, the state assembly was informed today."During 2016 kharif season, sowing was done in about 71.67 lakh hectares, and due to failure of rains crops in 35.41 lakh has been damaged," Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said in a written reply.He said the crops included food grains, which was raised in about 51.43 lakh hectares. Of this crops in 27.08 lakh hectares had been affected due to shortfall of rains.Stating that there was no proposal before the government to waive loans obtained by farmers through cooperative societies,Mr. Gowda, said to provide compensation for the crop loss, the state had asked central government for allocation under the National Disaster Response Fund.(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)