Paddy crop has been damaged in over 31,000 acres in Jalandhar and Kapurthala in the recent floods. While the Agriculture Department in Kapurthala estimates losses to standing paddy crop across 7,000 hectares (16,800 acres), the Jalandhar Agriculture Department pegs losses to paddy crop across 5,000 to 6,500 hectares (15,000 acres).
However, the accumulated water in the fields across several villages poses a challenge for Agriculture Department teams to carry out crop assessment, as it is making it hard to access villages to estimate the damage.
Jaswant Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer, Jalandhar, said: “It is a challenge to assess damages to all fields as several villages are still under water. It is only when water recedes that the full scale of damage will be estimated. It is difficult to say how much silt has accumulated in the flooded fields. As per current estimates, paddy crop has been destroyed on 15,000 acres of land in Jalandhar.”
Salwinder Singh, a resident of Jania village, said: “Around 15 to 20 villages of Jalandhar are still under water. There are some villages where water receded earlier, including my own, but is rising again. Paddy crop in at least 25,000 acres has been damaged. We demand Rs 50,000 per acre compensation from the government.”
Nirmal Singh, a Shahkot-based farmer, said: “There is 60 per cent of crop damage in villages where waters receded in a few days. More than 20 villages of Jalandhar still remain submerged under water. In these villages, there is a 100 per cent damage to crops. The villages on the downward side of Jania Chahal to Makhu road have been destroyed. Even in villages where waters have receded, there is an accumulation of 2-3 feet of silt deposits. Farmers should get Rs 50,000 per acre as crop damage compensation.”
Jaswant Singh said: “There is damage to paddy on 7,000 hectares in Sultanpur Lodhi villages. Full assessment will be possible only after water recedes.” Farmers in Kapurthala pegged losses in 14 to 15 villages of Sultanpur Lodhi. With the waters flooding additional villages after a Beas bundh was breached today, farmers said losses to the crop will only increase.
Union members submit memo to DC
Members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, Sidhupur, on Thursday handed over a memorandum to the Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner seeking timely compensation of losses incurred due to the floods. The members, led by district president Kulwinder Singh and general secretary Paramjit Singh, said farmers across the state have suffered a huge financial setback, which needs to be compensated in time. The farmers said threat of outbreak of waterborne diseases also looms large in the area. So, medical teams must be kept on alert.
Source - https://www.tribuneindia.com
