Farmers of the agrarian States of Punjab and Haryana are a worried lot after the region continued to be lashed by rains on Saturday, triggering a fear of more damage to standing wheat crops.
Rainfall has occurred for the last three days in Chandigarh. Several places in the two states including Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Patiala in Punjab and Panchkula, Ambala, and Karnald in Haryana received showers between 5.30 pm on Friday and 8.30 am on Saturday, a Met official said.
The maximum temperature hovered 2-5 degrees below normal in the two states settling in the range of 21-24 degrees Celsius at most places.
Untimely widespread rains accompanied by hailstorm and strong winds have flattened wheat crop in different places in Punjab with Fazilka district being the worst hit, officials have said.
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal has demanded that the government should give compensation for crop damage to the farmers as soon as possible.
Rain has also flattened wheat crop in many areas of Yamunanagar, Karnal and Kurukshetra districts in Haryana.
The farmers have demanded adequate compensation from the Government.
Speaking at a public rally in Israna in Panipat on Friday, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala had said that the Deputy Commissioners concerned have been instructed to assess the loss.
In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday demanded special ‘girdawari’ (revenue survey) of the standing crops, including mustard, wheat, and kinnow, flattened by the untimely rains and hailstorm. It has demanded full compensation for the affected farmers who suffered huge losses due to unseasonal rains accompanied by hailstorm in the State.
In a joint statement issued on Saturday, Leader of opposition (LoP) Harpal Singh Cheema, Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Sarabjit Kaur Manuke, Meet Hayer (All MLAs) said that the unrelenting rains and hailstorm had wreaked havoc on the farmers in various parts of the state, with Fazilka being the worst hit, followed by Patiala, Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ropar, Sangrur and Mansa other parts of the State.