This story is from May 4, 2019

Loss of Rs 2 crore as Fani hits salt farms in Srikakulam district

Untimely heavy rains in Srikakulam district under the influence of cyclone Fani hit salt production in nearly 3,000 acres in Naupada area of Santhabommali mandal, better known as the salt bowl of Andhra Pradesh.
Loss of Rs 2 crore as Fani hits salt farms in Srikakulam district
Visuals from Srikakulam. (ANI)
SANTHABOMMALI/NAUPADA: Untimely heavy rains in Srikakulam district under the influence of cyclone Fani hit salt production in nearly 3,000 acres in Naupada area of Santhabommali mandal, better known as the salt bowl of Andhra Pradesh.
Harvest season begins for salt farmers in December and the extraction peaks in May. It takes about 20 days for the natural evaporation of sea water in the fields before it is converted to salt.
Farmers get salt in about six to nine spells based on weather conditions. Howver, rains in the peak season have played spoilsport for farmers. The loss for salt farmers is estimated at around Rs 2 crore.
Neelapu Ganesh, a salt farmer of Seethanagaram village, said they extract about 50% of salt till March. “The remaining 50% is harvested in April-May alone. Unseasonal rains have hit hard at the prospects of a good harvest this year. It may not be possible to go for another round of salt cultivation this season as monsoon may enter AP before the raw salt is made. So technically, salt cultivation is over for this season,” Ganesh said.
K Kantha Rao, another salt farmer from Naupada, said salt production from each acre ranges between 800 to 1,000 bags. “The rains washed away a huge part of the salt from the pans in the area, which was ready to be extracted,” he said.
Salt cultivation is done in about 6,000 acres in Srikakulam. Salt fields are spread across villages like Naupada, Bhavanapadu, Marripadu, Yemalapeta, Moolapeta and Seethanagaram. Naupada circle alone has 3,500 acres of salt fields. About 10,000 people get direct or indirect employment from salt production in the distr
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About the Author
Umamaheswara Rao

J Umamaheswara Rao is a special correspondent, at the Times of India-Visakhapatnam. He covers developments related to the GVMC/VMRDA, education, health, science, IT, tech and startups, research studies, and data-related stories. He holds two postgraduate degrees, one in journalism and mass communication and another one in business administration, apart from completing several short-term courses and fellowships.

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