India News | Haryana Cong Chief Selja Seeks Relief for Farmers

Chandigarh, Apr 13 (PTI) Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja on Wednesday urged the state government to give compensation to farmers for the loss of yield due to extreme weather conditions.

Due to a sudden rise in temperature for the past several days, wheat and sunflower crops are most affected, Selja said.

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"Due to this, the crop production fell. Therefore, the BJP-JJP alliance government of the state should come forward to compensate farmers for their loss," she said in a statement.

"This time, farmers had to work harder as compared to other years in preparing the crop for the Rabi season. Amidst the scarcity of DAP and urea fertilisers, farmers had to spend nights in the mandis during cold winter and then the unseasonal rains spoiled their dreams," she said.

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"Many times rain and hailstorm kept causing damage but farmers did not lose hope and kept themselves busy in fields," she said, adding that early onset of scorching weather conditions has added to their woes.

When the crop was getting ready, the temperature started increasing rapidly and the crop ripened before time due to which the wheat grain remained weak, she said.

Kumari Selja said according to experts, the wheat grain was 22 per cent weaker than normal, due to which the production had fallen by five quintals per acre.

"Thus, farmers were losing more than Rs 10,000 per acre," she said.

Selja, a former Union minister, said farmers, who had got crop insurance, should be compensated for drop in yield and those without crop insurance, should be compensated by the state government.

The maximum temperature in Haryana has been hovering well above the normal limits for the past about three weeks.

In neighbouring Punjab, a farmers' union had on Tuesday said there will be a drop in wheat yield in the current season because of early onset of the summer season followed by a sudden rise in temperature.

Wheat growers have also demanded adequate compensation for the loss.

"Farmers are reporting a loss of around five quintals per acre in wheat yield because of rising temperatures," Bhartiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal) general secretary Harinder Singh Lakohwal said on Tuesday.

The Centre had on Tuesday formed five teams to assess the shrivelled grain because of the early onset of the heatwave, following a request by the Punjab government for revisiting the specifications in the wheat procurement.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)