Kolkata, Oct 25 (IANS): With excessive rainfall due to the post-landfall impact of Cyclone Dana, starting from early Friday morning and continuing till evening in different districts in south Bengal, the West Bengal Agriculture Department is apprehending a major negative impact on the production of Kharif crop amid the ongoing harvesting season.

As per estimates of the officials of the Agriculture Department, the negative impact is apprehended to be maximum in the two coastal districts of East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas, as well as in the West Midnapore and North 24 Parganas districts.

"The maximum impact will be on production of paddy as well as vegetables," a state Agriculture Department official said.

In case the heavy rains continue and there is more water-logging, there is a high possibility of the farm products being destroyed on the farmland due to their remaining under accumulated water for a long time.

The inevitable impact, according to the officials of the Agriculture Department, will be on the prices of essential food items in the retail markets of the state.

"Generally, the prices of vegetables come down sharply during the winter because of ample production. But if large amounts of crops are destroyed because of the post-landfall rains, the possibilities of downward movement of vegetable prices during the winter season might not be possible," the official said.

In fact, the office of the Regional Meteorological Office in Kolkata has already predicted continuing heavy rainfall for a major part of Friday, which in some pockets might continue till Saturday. And if that happens, the apprehension of crop loss will become even more acute. Even the same apprehension has been expressed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee earlier in the day.

"I heard that farmland at several places has been affected, so I have advised my officials to estimate the quantum of loss that the farmers might face," she said.