Water remains, relief missing in Bhiwani villages

With large agricultural tracts still inundated by floodwaters, farmers in around 30 villages of Bhiwani district continue to wait for the authorities concerned to take effective measures to drain water from their fields.

Farmers said it has been nearly five months since the flooding, resulting in the loss of two consecutive crops — the kharif crop and the ongoing rabi crop — yet their fields remain waterlogged. They alleged that despite losing two crops, they have not received any relief or compensation from the government so far.

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has been repeatedly raising the issue with the district administration. Farmer leaders stated that despite multiple representations to district officials, no concrete steps have been taken. AIKS activists claimed that in many areas, farmers not only lost their crops but also suffered damage to houses located in fields.

They said protests were organised to demand fair compensation for crop and house damage caused by heavy rainfall, waterlogging and floods; release of pending crop insurance claims; and payment of pending compensation amounts. However, they alleged that their demands have gone unheard.

AIKS district president Ramphal Deswal said a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister was also submitted through the district administration. The memorandum was received by Mahesh Kumar, Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil), Bhiwani, on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner.

AIKS state general secretary Sumit Dalal and district vice-president Comrade Om Prakash said that data uploaded on the Haryana Government's compensation portal showed that 5,30,287 farmers from 6,397 villages reported destruction of kharif crops over 31,15,914 acres. However, they alleged that the government has failed to compensate a large number of affected farmers.

“At the same time, the Centre provided special relief packages of Rs 1,600 crore to Punjab, Rs 1,500 crore to Himachal Pradesh and Rs 1,200 crore to Uttarakhand, but Haryana farmers did not receive a single rupee,” said Comrade Om Prakash.

He further alleged that so far the state government has distributed only Rs 116 crore as compensation for waterlogging and floods, whereas the losses in Sagwan village alone exceeded this amount. He claimed that nearly 80 per cent of Sagwan village residents were forced to migrate to safer places as floodwater continues to stagnate in fields.

The farmers said although the government opened a compensation portal for crop damage and they registered their losses, they have not received any payment. Those who had insured their crops also claimed that insurance companies have failed to settle their claims.

"Even after five months, neither compensation nor insurance claims have been received," Om Prakash said, questioning how farmers were expected to support their families under such circumstances. The AIKS also demanded proper water drainage and girdawari (crop damage assessment) so that compensation could be processed.

The AIKS leaders alleged that the "triple-engine" government has grossly neglected farmers and agricultural workers and accused the Centre of discriminating against Haryana.

Meanwhile, the Bhiwani SDM stated that on the instructions of Deputy Commissioner Sahil Gupta, a committee has been constituted to examine the issue and steps would be taken soon to ensure proper drainage of water.