Farmers Movement Archive

Rain causes loss to paddy in Punjab fields, grain markets

BATHINDA: The rain that lashed the region on Saturday evening and Sunday morning caused damage to standing paddy crop ready to be harvested. The rains also added the moisture content in the paddy unloaded into the grain markets for selling. The situation is learnt to be worst in the border districts of Amritsar and Tarn Taran where rain was followed by hailstorm and lightening. The paddy harvesting had already delayed due to inclement weather in the last week of September and early part of October, but the rains on Saturday came at the most inappropriate time for both those who have harvested and those who were ready for harvesting. With the rains, the harvesting will be delayed and those already in the mandis with the harvested crop may have to wait for moisture content to come down. In a visit to Barnala grain market on Sunday morning, it was seen that rain water was flowing in between the heaps and sacks loaded of paddy. With no proper arrangements to fully cover the paddy stacks, the crop of many farmers’ got wet. This despite the fact that India Metrological Department had predicted rains on October 23-24. “We had brought crop in the mandi on Saturday afternoon. We were waiting for the crop to be purchased but it got wet in the rains in the evening. Neither the commission agent nor the government agencies had made proper arrangements to save the crop from vagaries of weather,” said farmer Karnail Singh and Sukhwant Singh, who were sitting in Barnala grain market. Farmer Harjinder Singh at Rampura Phool grain market said the crop unloaded in the open has gone wet after the rains and it will take time for it to be fit for procurement. “We were to harvest the crop on Sunday, but the rains at the most inappropriate time has further delayed it as now we will have to wait for few more days for the harvesting, as taking combines in the fields may not be easy,” said farmer Mohinder Singh from Ralla village in Mansa. The crop that was ready to be harvested got flattened at some places due to rain and winds. Apart from the bureaucratic wrangling, the farmers also had to face the fury of nature, the state government should compensate the farmers for the losses they are incurring, said farm group Punjab Kisan Union’ Mansa based leader Gora Singh Bhainibagha. A senior official of the Punjab state agricultural marketing board not wanting to be named said adequate arrangements of tarpaulins have been made to save crop of farmers and the crop that was purchased but not lifted from mandis. However, it may not be possible to cover every heap., he added. BKU Ekta Ugrahan (EU) has decided to resume the indefinite protest from Monday after a week for fair compensation to farmers whose cotton crop has damaged due to pink bollworm attack. The organisation’ state body held a meeting at a gurdwara in Bathinda on Sunday and announced that a large number of farmers along with family members will reach at Bathinda district administrative complex on Monday, even after breaking cordons if barricades are put to stop them. BKU (EU) state secretary Shingara Singh Mann said this government is proving to be equally cruel with farmers even as chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi is daily enacting dramas of showing him to be poor people friendly as it has not completed the girdawari (revenue assessment) a month after his visit. Channi had visited Bathinda villages on September 26 assuring prompt compensation, but has now asked officials to complete girdawari by October 29. It seems government want to get fair taste of farmers’ anger. Now, as rains have caused loss to paddy crop, we will now demand compensation to paddy growers as well.”

The Times of India

2021-10-25

Amritsar