In the wake of incessant rain since past four days causing massive damage to the kharif crop, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday ordered special girdawari (survey) to assess possible crop damage.

Capt Amarinder, while chairing an emergency meeting at his official residence to access the situation arising out of continuous rains,

announced a special girdawari for assessing crop damage due to heavy rain.

He asked the Financial Commissioner Revenue (FCR) to issue detailed guidelines to the Deputy Commissioners for initiating the process of girdawari immediately after the water level recedes.

Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has demanded that the Congress Government come out with a comprehensive relief package for farmers whose crops have been damaged by incessant rainfall. At the same time, the party asked why the Chief Minister and his Ministers were missing from action even at this hour of grave crisis.

“It is shocking that no relief had been announced by the Congress Government to provide aid to the beleaguered peasantry which is facing an unimaginable crisis with cotton and paddy crops damaged over cast swathes in the State,” said the former minister and SAD Kisan wing president Sikander Singh Maluka.

He said, “We demand an immediate relief of Rs  15,000 per acre for damage to cotton and paddy crops and Rs 20,000 per acre for paddy and vegetable crops. This is an interim solution only. A more comprehensive relief can be awarded once all assessments are done.”

Maluka said that it was condemnable that farmers were suffering since the last two days but neither the Chief Minister nor any Minister or even Congress legislators had found time for them.

“The entire Congress party is engaged in celebrating their bogus victories in the panchayat samiti and zila parishad elections which they

won by resorting to blatant goondaism. They are so power hungry that they cannot see the suffering of the anndaata who is facing a tragedy in the making,” he said.

Stating that the loss was most in case of cotton which had ripened and even started arriving in mandis, Maluka said that excessive rain had caused moisture in blooming cotton buds which had now blackened.

“This will lead to discolouration of the cotton produce and will result in huge loss to cotton farmers in the Malwa belt,” he said adding that there were similar widespread reports of paddy being damaged, especially in central Punjab and Malwa belt due to excessive rain.

He said that paddy had been flattened due to combination of strong winds and excessive rain, and this would lead to discolouration of the grains and would also affect the yield adversely.

Maluka said that there were large scale reports of destruction of potato and vegetable crops in Jalandhar and Ludhiana districts. Potato crop had ripened and the incessant rain would result in rotting of the product, he said.

He said that there were reports of vegetable crops being damaged in Mohali and Malerkotla areas. Since input costs were very high in case of potato and vegetables farmers should be compensated appropriately, he demanded.