Kapurthala farmers count losses as debt worries loom

The floods that swept through the Sultanpur Lodhi villages here have left behind a trail of destruction, with farmers counting their losses amid debt burden running into lakhs of rupees.

Balkar Singh, a 60-year-old marginal farmer from Bandu Jadid village, broke down counting his losses.

His village is located in the low-lying Mand area along the Beas. “I lost my entire crop and one-room house,” he said. Balkar Singh said he owned three acres and had taken four acres on rent for farming.

The land rent is generally up to Rs 60,000 in the area. His entire paddy crop had submerged in floodwaters, a blow to his hopes of repaying his bank loan of Rs 1.5 lakh.

“I had taken a loan, hoping the crops would help me repay it. Now everything is gone,” he said while collecting ration from representatives of an NGO. “We are dependent on help being provided by people. I just came back after checking on my fields. It broke my heart,” he told The Tribune, adding that it was now nearly impossible to grow the next crop due to the silt deposited by the river on his fields.

At Baupur village, Gurpreet Singh is facing a similar crisis. He owns 10 acres and had taken 20 acres on lease. Gurpreet has a debt of Rs 20 lakh. “I have two young school-going children. With the crop gone, it feels impossible to manage anything,” he said.

Jaswant Singh lost his crop on four acres. He expressed concern over managing his family’s essential needs.

“My wife needs medicines worth Rs 8,000 every month. I don’t know how I’ll manage that now,” he said, pinning hope of compensation they get now from the government. Standing crops on around 4.81 lakh acres in the state, including 43,936 acres in Kapurthala district, were damaged by the floods. As many as 149 villages in the district were affected by the calamity.