Hisar, Bhiwani farmers suffer massive losses in rain, hailstorm: Report

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, March 5

A report by the Agriculture Department has indicated that the recent rain and hailstorm has wreaked havoc on mustard and wheat crops in Hisar and Bhiwani districts.

Compensate farmers as soon as possible

Rabi is a season of hope for farmers as major crops such as wheat and mustard are harvested. Reports have indicated that the hailstorm has hit the crops hard. It is unfortunate that none of the insurance firms has come forward for insurance cover in seven districts, including Hisar, this season. The state government must step in to compensate the farmers as soon as possible. — Sampat Singh, Congress leader

According to the report submitted by the Agriculture Department in Hisar, wheat crop on around one lakh acres and mustard on 38,000 acres have suffered losses between 51 and 75 per cent in Hisar district. Moreover, mustard crop on 4,571 acres and wheat on 230 acres had suffered over 76 per cent losses in Hisar. Besides, mustard crop on 43,220 acres and wheat crop on 39,065 acres got damaged in the range of 26 to 50 per cent. The remaining fields had reported below 25% damage. Hisar has an area of 4,17,032 acres under wheat cultivation and 1,30,867 acres under mustard cultivation.

In Bhiwani district, mustard crop on around 4,500 acres had suffered losses in the range of 76 to 100 per cent while mustard crop on 8,117 acres had reported damage between 51 and 75 per cent while mustard on 33,772 acres, too, has reported damage to the tune of 26 to 50 per cent. Bhiwani has a total 83,000 acres under mustard cultivation. The wheat loss is significantly lower in Bhiwani district, as 32,723 acres and 2,100 acres had crop loss above 76%, 580 acres between 51 and 75 per cent whereas 9,289 acres reported a loss of 26 to 50 per cent.

In Bhiwani, farmers Raju, Satish and Ramkishan, who were part of a delegation that submitted a memorandum to the SDM, said the hailstorm had ruined the mustard, wheat and other rabi crops. Raju said the crops in Manheru, Dharedu, Goripur, Kitlana, Nangal, Umravat and surrounding villages had been completely destroyed. They demanded a compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre.

In Hisar district, the All India Kisan Sabha submitted a memorandum to the tehsildar in Adampur, demanding immediate special girdawari and compensation for the damage to crops by hailstorm on March 2 and 3.

Congress leader Sampat Singh has demanded that the state government should take swift action to assess the losses and compensate farmers. “Rabi season is a season of hope for farmers as major crops such as wheat and mustard are harvested. But, ground reports have indicated that the hailstorm has hit the crops hard,” he said. Singh said it was unfortunate that none of the insurance firms came forward to give insurance cover to the crops in seven districts, including Hisar, this rabi season. “In the absence of insurance cover, the state government must step in to compensate the farmers as soon as possible,” he said.