Farmers worried as gusty winds, rain flatten paddy crop in Amritsar dist

High-velocity winds and heavy rain on Sunday night damaged paddy crops in the district with farmers fearing huge losses in terms of yield and quality of grains. Initial estimates suggest that widespread damage has been caused to premium parmal and basmati varieties on over 15,000 hectares.

Besides loss of yield, farmers also fear discoloration of the grains which would make it eligible for purchase by government procurement agencies on the minimum support price (MSP). The hardest-hit areas in the district include Ajnala, Majitha, Jandiala, Attari and Manawala in Amritsar.

However, inclement weather has more or less affected every area of the district. Farmer leader Rattan Singh Randhawa said, “A special girdawari should be conducted to assess the loss.” He demanded that the government should come to the rescue of farmers who suffered a major loss.

In many areas, heavy showers caused waterlogging in the fields, which would also delay harvesting until the soil is dry enough to bear weight of heavy combine harvesters.

A visit to different areas of the district revealed that paddy crop on thousands of acres have been flattened. While the harvesting of parmal varieties has just started, most of the crop was standing in fields. Similarly, late-sown basmati 1121 variety would also be ready for harvesting within a next fortnight.

Joginder Singh, a farmer from Ajnala, said, “It is difficult to harvest flattened paddy crop. A large number of grains fall off the plant when the machine is used and it directly causes a loss of yield.” The flattened fields would not get proper sunlight and air and as such grains would not only start to germinate but also change colour due to moisture.

Mandeep Singh, another farmer, said, “The biggest problem is that the grains that have touched the ground due to flattening of crop would start germinating in the next few days.” He said they fear a loss of 20 per cent yield. Most farmers are concerned that more showers in the coming days would amplify the damage.