Farmers in flood-hit mand area still struggling for fertilisers, seeds and diesel: MP Seechewal

Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal on Saturday said that farmers in the flood-affected Baupur mand area continue to face an acute shortage of fertiliser, seed and diesel needed for wheat sowing.

Seechewal visited Baupur village in the mand area this morning to review the ongoing kar sewa and the reconstruction of the temporary bundh, which had earlier been breached during the floods. The floods, which hit the region four months ago, caused massive destruction. The bundh near Bhaini Kadar Bakhsh village had broken on the intervening night of August 10 and 11, leading to the devastation of around 3,500 acres of crops in the Mand area.

Seechewal said that after the floodwaters receded, sand and soil up to four to five feet deep had covered large portions of farmland, rendering it unfit for cultivation. He added that the river had created deep pits in many fields, making the land uneven and difficult to plough.

Working alongside farmers, Seechewal has personally participated in field-levelling efforts — even driving his tractor in the affected villages to lend support. A special campaign to level fields was launched about one and a half months after the flood, and the temporary embankment is now being rebuilt and reinforced with sand collected from farmers’ fields.

Seechewal also expressed gratitude for the financial aid sent by farmers from Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, who came forward to help their counterparts in Punjab.

Meanwhile, local farmers have appealed to migrant Punjabis to assist them in arranging fertilisers, seeds and diesel, emphasising that timely help would enable them to sow their crops and recover from the devastating losses caused by the floods.