Wheat Crop in 100 Bigha Burnt and Charred to Ash in Bihar's Begusarai

Begusarai lies in North Bihar and is in the middle of the mid Ganga plain and generally has low lying terrain and is basically divided in three flood plains namely :1) Ganga Flood Plain 2) BurhiGandak Flood plain 3) Kareha-Bagmati Flood Plain.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy here in Begusarai. The main cash crops of the Begusarai district are Wheat, Oilseeds, Tobacco, Jute, Potato, Red chilies, Tomato and Rape-seed. In Fruits Farming Begusarai has recently become a major contributor in producing Litchi, Mango, Guava and Banana. Recently Basil Leaves and Pearl farming has attracted local farmers.

Sunita Devi and many other farmers  lost all their wheat crops to fire two days ago. There was 100 Bigha which had wheat crop standing which was due for cutting in two days. Sunita lost her 2 Bigha Wheat Crop which will amount to a lakh of Rupee. The Wheat would have fed her family for one year and she could also have saved some for seeds for the next crop. She is devastated. Since Two years there have been continuous losses in the area since they lost Wheat to fire and last year they lost them to flooding. While talking to Manish, Sunitha’s son in Begumsarai he says they are yet to get compensation for the wheat lost to fire two years back. The Department takes all applications and says they will receive the compensation, but they haven’t got any, money so far. The Insurance Companies haven’t approached them and they haven’t done any insurance for their crops either. Now they are requested to apply online to which they aren’t aware of its details how to fill in.

These vulnerable areas should always be extended coverage under   PMFBY scheme that has coverage under localized risks, post-harvest losses etc. and aims at adoption of technology for the purpose of yield estimation. Through increased farmer awareness and low farmer premium rates the scheme aims at increasing the crop insurance penetration in India. Following stages of the crop and risks leading to crop loss are covered under the scheme.

In this Scheme the Insured area is prevented from sowing/ planting due to deficit rainfall or adverse seasonal conditions and also Comprehensive risk insurance is provided to cover yield losses due to non- preventable risks, viz. Drought, Dry spells, Flood, Inundation, Pests and Diseases, Landslides, Natural Fire and Lightening, Storm, Hailstorm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane and Tornado. Localized Calamities are also covered in this scheme.

If at all anybody wants to send some money as a help, please do call Manish, at 918373940162