As the unseasonal rains accompanied by hailstorm and strong winds flatten Rabi crop over one lakh hectares in Punjab, the State Congress president Sunil Jakhar and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal on Friday come on the same page demanding immediate girdawari (revenue assessment) to assess the crop damage.
Jakhar asked the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to get the girdawari done to assess the damage done to the wheat crops and kinnow produce due to recent rains so that farmers can be compensated.
Also demanding the same, SAD chief also demanded increasing the crop compensation rates in Punjab by increasing the state quotient share in the compensation amount as had been done earlier by the Parkash Singh Badal led SAD-BJP Government.
“The Government must announce enhanced compensation for wheat crop damaged due to rain and hail storm as it is the moral responsibility of the State to bail out farmers in times of natural catastrophe and also minimize their losses,” he said.
Sukhbir said that as per reports, there was widespread damage to wheat crop as well as mustard and vegetable crops in Nawanshahr, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ropar, Sangrur, Mansa and Ferozepur districts due to heavy rain and hail storms. Reports of moderate damage to crops were reported from other districts also, he said.
“Besides immediate Girdwari, farmers should also be given compensation for crop damage as soon as possible as in many districts, farmers had not received compensation for crops damaged during the last rabi season,” he said.
Underlining that the horticulture crop loss is many times higher than that of conventional crops, Jakhar appealed to the Chief Minister to give full compensation to the farmers by forming a policy to compensate the loss of horticulture.
“Farmers of Abohar and others areas in Fazilka district have adopted the government’s crop diversification program and have left the traditional wheat-paddy crop cycle and set up kinnow orchards. But, the Thursday’s hailstorm has severely damaged the age-old gardens,” said Jakhar.