NEWS

India - Surprise rain, hail damage wheat crop

14.03.2016 530 views
Within two weeks of the Centre announcing a pro-farmer budget, an untimely downpour and hail on Saturday night may have caused heavy damage to the rabi (winter) crop in Gautam Budh Nagar farms. Farmers are claiming that almost half of the wheat crop planted in November could be destroyed by the showers. The farmers of Greater Noida apprehend a hard season in the months ahead. While many have complained that they are yet to be compensated for last year's crop damage, the farmers hope that the State government and the Centre will take notice of this crop damage and help them tide over the loss. "The fields are full of water and the wheat is almost down to the ground. Within a few days, we will get to know the exact extent of the damage, but we are once again looking at a season of damaged crops," Mahesh Chaudhary, a farmer in Charauli, Greater Noida said. Chaudhary has 10 acre plot of land and almost all the wheat is presently underwater.
 "We had planted grade 343 type of wheat. However, no variety of wheat can withstand the kind of hailstorm and water that we experienced last night. Most of the farmers are still under debt from last year's crop loss. Now, we are again in a similar situation," Arun Singh, from Rustampur in Jewar, said.
"This crop was only two weeks short of ripening. Now it is a complete waste of five months of effort for all Western UP farmers. Compensation of last year's crop damage has not fully reached all farmers and now there is a whole new season of crop damage," Karan Singh Talan, a farmer from Gautam Budh Nagar's Gopalgarh village, said.
"The farmers have been facing hard luck with crops for the last several seasons. We want to know if they will now be covered by the Fasal Bima Yojna announced by the Prime Minister.
Most farmers are already under debt because of previous crop losses. This is another round of damage. We hope the state government and the union government take necessary action," Dushyant Nagar, convenor of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, said.
Source - timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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