'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 the failure of rains, the state assembly was informed on Friday.

"During 2016 Kharif season, sowing was done in about 71.67 lakh hectares, and due to the 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 the shortfall of rains.

Stating that there was no proposal before the government to waive loans obtained by farmers through cooperative societies, Gowda said to provide compensation for the crop loss, the state had asked the central government for allocation under the National Disaster Response Fund.