Harvest time, but cotton crop lies damaged on 39K hectares in Hisar

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, September 29

A preliminary survey conducted by the Agriculture Department indicated that cotton crop grown over nearly 39,000 hectare land had suffered over 50 per cent damage due to the recent heavy rain in Hisar district.

Guar, paddy, bajra affected

• 76 per cent of guar crop has been damaged on 5,784 hectares. It is being cultivated on 18,970 hectares.
• The district has paddy crops in 12,965 hectares of which nearly 400 hectares has suffered above 76 pc damage.
• Bajra, which is being cultivated on 1,900 hectare, has suffered 76 per cent damage on 800 hectares

Sources in the department claimed that cotton was the worst-affected crop this monsoon. It has suffered damages at a time when the harvest was underway. The survey report had been compiled on the basis of the reports received from the field staff in different blocks and the complaints of the affected farmers after a three-day rain spell in the district recently.

The report read that 1,29,814 hectares were under cotton cultivation this kharif season in the district. Over 75 per cent crop had been damaged on 21,119 hectares and 50 to 75 per cent on 17,800 hectares.

The officials of the department said Uklana, Barwana and Narnaund blocks were the worst-hit as fields in these areas were waterlogged. “Cotton fields that are still waterlogged will fetch nothing to the farmers. It is a complete devastation,” said an official. The report suggests that 23,160 hectare cotton crop had suffered loss between 26-50 per cent and another 61,735 hectare had reported damages of below 25 per cent.

The department and the insurance agency, which insured the cotton crops under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna, had been flooded with the complaints of crop damage. Deputy Director Agriculture Vinod Kumar Phogat said, “The department, along with the insurance agency concerned, will take necessary action on the complaints.”

He said that compensation was provided on the basis of the girdawari survey for the crop loss and crop-cutting experiments.