Cotton crop damaged, Punjab CM announces relief

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, September 26

Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi today visited Bathinda to assess the loss of cotton crop which was damaged due to pink bollworm attack in the Malwa belt.

Sukhbir’s field visit drama: AAP

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The Aam Aadmi Party termed the visit of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal to the pink bollworm-hit cotton belt a mere drama and alleged the party along with the Congress and BJP had done more harm than good to agriculture and farming.

‘Disease causes to be identified’

The CM announced full help to farmers whose cotton crop had been damaged and said immediate action would be taken for investigation and treatment of the causes of the spread of pink bollworm. The compensation would be disbursed directly to farmers, he added.

He inspected the fields in Nasibpura and Katar Singh Wala villages where pink bollworm had damaged cotton crop. Channi was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.

Channi announced every cotton cultivator who had suffered loss due to the attack would be duly compensated by the government. The Chief Minister asked officials of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department to set up various labs across the state to test and

certify seed quality so as to prevent recurrence

of such pest attacks.

Channi asked officials to pump in all resources in terms of best available insecticides and pesticides to save the

precious crop of farmers from these attacks.

When the Chief Minister reached the cotton field here, the security personnel stopped farmer Balwinder Singh Khalsa from meeting the Chief Minister. The farmers were outraged by this action. When the Chief Minister came to know about this, he directed the security personnel to send the farmer to him.

Balwinder Singh apprised the Chief Minister that he used to cultivate land on a contract basis but this time, the pink bollworm had destroyed everything. He told the Chief Minister

if compensation was

given by the government, it did not reach them.

The Chief Minister announced full help to farmers whose cotton crop had been damaged and said immediate action would be taken for investigation and treatment of the causes of the spread of pink bollworm. The compensation would be disbursed directly to farmers, he added. He also said the first target was to check the further spread of the attack by taking necessary preventive measures.