CPM demands relief for flood-hit farmers

The Bhiwani district committee of the CPM has strongly criticised the state government for “failing to announce adequate compensation” for people affected by heavy rainfall and floods, and for “delays” in providing relief.

In a statement, the party’s district secretary Om Prakash said here on Tuesday that experts had already predicted above-normal rainfall this monsoon.

With the state receiving 48 per cent more rainfall than the average, lack of timely cleaning of drains, canals, and negligence of early warnings led to massive losses, he claimed, terming this as “criminal negligence” by the administration.

He said agriculture was already under stress due to liberalisation policies and climate change, leading to crop losses from droughts, excessive rain, and disease.

Under the BJP rule, over 4 lakh farmers and farm labourers had committed suicide due to rising debt, he alleged, adding that recent devastation had claimed 27 lives in the state, damaged thousands of homes, and destroyed essential belongings.

Prakash said 5.03 lakh farmers across the state had reported crop damage over 29.46 lakh acres on the state’s compensation portal.

In Bhiwani alone, 79,589 farmers across 272 villages reported losses on 4.71 lakh acres, despite repeated complaints about the portal’s inaccessibility, he added.

He said, the government had offered much less compensation compared to Punjab’s Rs 20,000.

CPM demanded the deadline for the portal be extended by a month and called for fair compensation for crop losses, damaged homes, and job loss among farm labourers.

The party also demanded ration, clothing, and books for the poor, 200 workdays under MGNREGA, quick drainage of stagnant water, free seeds and fertilizers for rabi crops, interest-free loans, and strong measures to prevent disease outbreaks. It also urged the government to immediately begin procurement of bajra to prevent exploitation of flood-affected farmers.