The flattened wheat crop at Gurusar village in Muktsar district on Friday following heavy rainfall. Tribune photo
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Tribune News Service
Muktsar, March 6
The untimely rain accompanied by strong winds has left farmers worried as their wheat crop has been flattened. More worrying is the forecast of more rain, they say.
Many farmers have still not received compensation for losses suffered two years ago. The untimely rain on Friday has aggravated their problems.
Farmers of the district’s Gurusar village had irrigated their fields two days ago. With rain and winds flattening the crop, they say leaves will be discoloured, affecting the size of the granules. The state government should start the process of compensating affected farmers, they demand.
Ranjit Singh, a farmer, said, “Those who had sown wheat earlier have suffered the most, while those who had sown the crop later have suffered the minimum damage. The forecast of rain in the next two or three days is a worrying sign.”
Agriculture officer Gurpreet Singh said, “Luckily, there was no hailstorm and the average rainfall in the district in the past 24 hours remained at 15.8 mm. The maximum rainfall of 32.4 mm was recorded in Muktsar block.”
He added, “The rain has affected wheat crop in nearly 10 to 15 per cent of the area. The Agriculture Department has advised farmers not to irrigate their fields as there is prediction of more rain.”
There were reports of hailstorm at some places in Fazilka district.
Sangrur: Heavy rainfall and hailstorm flattened wheat crop at 20 villages in Lehra and Sunam sub-divisions of the district, a worrying sign for farmers.
“Farmers are already committing suicide because of mounting debt. The state government should act quickly to compensate affected farmers,” said Dharinder Pashore, Lehra block president, BKU (Ugrahan).
Chief Agriculture Officer (Sangrur) Jaswinderpal Singh Grewal said, “As the size of the hailstorm was small, the damage is not widespread. The department will conduct a survey of the affected areas.”
