Rain takes toll on crops in Majha too

Perneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 3

Rainfall in Majha has taken a toll on wheat, vegetables and green fodder, particularly in the low-lying areas. Farmers have already suffered crop loss on 2,600 acres in the Jandiala and Tarsikka blocks of Amritsar because of the hailstorm last month.

Sources in the Agriculture Department here said that Rayya block registered 38 mm of rainfall, Jandiala 35 mm, Amritsar 18 mm and Ajnala 11 mm. This led to waterlogging in low-lying areas. Early varieties of wheat and vegetables were the worst hit, said Amritsar Chief Agriculture Officer BS Chhina.

The Deputy Director, Horticulture, Baaj Singh, said that vegetables grown over 1,500 acres in Jandiala, Baba Bakala, Majitha and Verka had been damaged.

In neighbouring Tarn Taran district, crops were damaged particularly in the Goindwal-Harike belt. Khadoor Sahib in Tarn Taran received a maximum of 62 mm rainfall, spelling ruin for vegetable growers. Tarn Taran received 39 mm of rainfall and Patti 26.2 mm. Among the worst-affected villages are Dhun Dhaewala, Kamboj Dhaewala, Chamba Kalan and Gharka. All are located in the low-lying Mand area. Kashmir Singh, a farmer from Gharka village, said their fields were still submerged in rainwater. If necessary measures to drain out water were not initiated soon, their entire crop would be ruined, he said. Tarn Taran Chief Agriculture Officer Dr SS Sandhu said they had received reports of crop loss in Khadoor Sahib.

In Gurdaspur district, Agriculture Department officials visited 12 villages, including Sarawa, Dakhla, Hardan, Nangal, Aali Nangal, Dugri, Khokhar and Daburi, to take stock of the crop loss suffered by the farmers. Fields in the low-lying areas of Gurdaspur, Kahnuwan, Dera Baba Nanak and Dinanagar have been particularly hit by the recent rainfall.

The Punjab Kisan Sabha has demanded adequate compensation for the farmers. After a meeting here today, sabha leader Lakhbir Singh said the state government should award compensation of Rs 20,000 per acre to the farmers, besides waiving their debt.

Another farmers’ leader Rattan Singh Randhawa demanded a crop insurance scheme for the farmers. “If a small country like Pakistan can do it, why not India,” he asked.