Hail flattens farmers’ hopes for good returns in Hisar, Bhiwani

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar/Bhiwani, January 27

Rabi crops, including wheat, mustard and vegetables, on large tracts saw extensive damage in Hisar and Bhiwani districts due to rain and hailstorm on Wednesday and Thursday.

Mustard crop was destroyed in Barwala, Hansi and Narnaund blocks of Hisar due to hail. Farmers said standing mustard crops, which was in the flowering stage, had been destroyed as hailstones hit the plants.

Farmers of Sulkhani, Bugana, Danshu and Mirzapur said mustard had been completely damaged while the yield in the wheat fields too was likely to fall by 75 per cent. Sube Singh said his entire mustard crop on three acres had been reduced to zilch.

Hans Raj Bura, a farmer from Ghiray village who took 26 acres on rent in Sulkhani village, said his ten-acre mustard crop had been destroyed completely. “I hoped for a good return after several years of consecutive losses in rabi crops, especially when mustard crop was going good. But I am unlikely to recover even the input costs and stare at a debt as I have to pay rent for the farmland.”

Om Prakash of Dhanana village in Bhiwani district lost his entire two acres of mustard crop to hailstorm. Showing tennis ball-sized hailstones, he said mustard plants had been completely flattened in the fields. “Due to shortage of irrigation facilities, farmers in this region sow mustard during rabi season as it required less water,” he said.

A delegation of farmers from Talu, Dhanana, Siwadi, Mundhal and Baliyali villages in Bhiwani district demanded that the district administration should carry out a survey of the damaged crops and provide adequate compensation to the affected farmers.

BJP MP from Bhiwani-Mahendergarh Dharambir Singh said the reports indicated a massive damage to farmers and he would urge the Chief Minister to immediately order a special girdawari to compensate the aggrieved farmers.

Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar, who was in Dadri yesterday, said the district officials had been directed to visit the affected areas and compile a report of the crop loss so that the farmers could be compensated by the crop insurance companies.

Year on, paddy farmers yet to get relief for crop loss

Kaithal: A deputation of Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha (AIKS) today called on Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Joon and brought to his notice that majority of farmers who had suffered paddy crop loss in 2015 have not received compensation from the government. AIKS district president Mahinder Singh said though the crop loss was assessed at Rs 29 crore, only 20 per cent reached the victim farmers’ bank accounts.  The farmers demanded that the government should ensure that the balance amount was credited to their accounts before March 15. They also pointed that during the wheat season last year, crops on hundreds of acres were destroyed in fire in Sajuma village and those affected had not been paid any compensation till now.  They demanded that such farmers should also the compensated at the earliest otherwise they will launch agitation. OC