Rain-hit farmers seek financial aid

Moga, June 16

Recent rains coupled with hailstorm and strong winds have damaged vegetables, maize and direct-seeded rice in many villages of Moga district, inflicting huge monetary losses on farmers.

However, farmers engaged in sowing paddy with the traditional method of transplanting seedlings said the rains were beneficial to them.

Jaswant Singh, a farmer of Rauke Kalan village, who has taken 8-acre land on lease to cultivate watermelons and vegetables, said his crops were damaged in the recent rains. “Rain coupled with heavy winds in June is a strange thing for me, which has extensively damaged my crops,” he said, urging the Punjab Government to compensate him adequately for the losses.

Assistant Plant Protection Officer Jaswinder Singh Brar said many villages of Moga-II block, including Jai Singh Wala, Chand Purana, Chand Nawa, Khukhrana, Jaimalwala, Sosan and others, were hit by hailstorm, rains and heavy winds in the past few days.

Moong cultivated on at least 230 hectares of land in these villages was damaged at the harvesting stage. Maize and cotton, which were at the infancy stage, were also damaged in some villages, he said.

There were also reports that farmers who had opted for direct seeding of rice (DSR) technology also suffered losses due to hailstorm as the upper crust of the soil became hard, adversely affecting the germination of paddy seeds. — TNS