A Central team visited Gerdada and Arakere villages in Saligrama taluk of Mysuru district on Sunday to assess the ground situation arising from drought.

The team comprised Sudham Beg, Deputy Commissioner, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; Ashish Pandey, Deputy Adviser, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation; Pradeep Kumar, Under Secretary, Department of Food and Civil Supplies; and Karan Chaudhary, Deputy Director, Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

A team of officials, including Additional Deputy Commissioner Aishwarya R. and Joint Director of Agriculture K.H. Ravi, briefed the Central team on crop damage caused by deficient rainfall, dried-up lakes, and drinking water problems in the affected areas.

After holding discussions with officials, the Central team interacted with villagers to gather information on the ground.

Agriculture Department officials explained the damage to tobacco crops in Gerdada village and ragi crops in Arakere village.