Farmers await relief for wheat crop loss

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, May 18

Many farmers are compelled to run between the local offices of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department to get compensation under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana for their wheat crop that was damaged due to water-logging around four months ago.

“Unseasonal rain in January flooded my fields, causing extensive damage to the entire wheat crop over three acres. I immediately lodged a complaint about the loss and a joint team of the Agriculture Department and the Insurance Company conducted a survey within some days, but I am yet to receive compensation,” says Sehdev, a farmer from Samar Gopalpur village here.

Rajender, a resident of Bharan village, is also facing a similar situation. “Our fields are located at the tail-end of the Bharan minor canal. Since there is no drain there, water flowing into it submerged our wheat crop over six acres. The fields were dewatered after two months but till then, the entire crop was destroyed,” he said. “The insurance company had assured us of releasing the compensation by May but we are still awaiting it,” said the distressed farmer.

Besides Sehdev and Rajender, 46 other farmers of various villages in the district had also suffered crop loss due to water-logging in January and applied for claims but are yet to get compensation.

“After January, 363 claim applications were received in February, 44 in March and 38 in April from farmers belonging to different villages of the district but none of them has been awarded compensation for crop loss,” sources said.

Rohtas Singh, Deputy Director (Agriculture), said that farmers had been visiting the office to get information about the compensation for crop loss as the survey to assess the damage had been carried out. “We have asked the insurance company to release the compensation as early as possible,” he added.

Amrish Singh, Zonal Manager, Universal Sempo General Insurance Company Limited, told The Tribune that the process to calculate the compensation was under way, hence farmers need not worry.