Rain & Hailstorm Destroys Crops; Congress Seeks Compensation for Farmers

Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kumari Selja on Sunday urged Haryana's BJP-JJP government to resolve farmers' crop-loss compensation claims as soon as possible. 

Selja slammed the state government, saying, "Over 105828 farmers have applied to the agriculture department and sought compensation for Kharif crop destruction." These include those farmers whose crops were damaged due to rain and hailstorms. These farmers' crops have either been entirely damaged or their production has diminished." 

Under pressure from the opposition, the state government ordered a special girdawari to avert farmer protests, according to Selja, but the full report has yet to reach the government. Because of the government's anti-farmer attitude, the report lies on the desks of district officers. Since the government isn't serious about compensating people, avoid getting these reports to the headquarters. The government doesn’t want to pay the farmers' compensation in any circumstance," Selja stated in a statement. 

Farmers of Hisar, Rewari, Fatehabad, Charkhi Dadri, Bhiwani, Sirsa, Jhajjar, Mahendragarh, and Jind districts suffered the most this time, she added.

In addition, crops in Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Yamunanagar, Rohtak, Karnal, Gurgaon, and Sonepat were devastated by rain and hailstorm. 

"These farmers have also applied for compensation in accordance with the government instructions while the crop damage during the special girdawari has been confirmed. Despite this, the government is unwilling to compensate them. Farmers have become financially vulnerable as a result of crop destruction. They don't have enough money for fertilizer, water, or even pesticides for Rabi crops. Farmers are optimistic that they will receive compensations. However, the government intends to keep people indebted continuously so that they will never be able to stand before the government with their demands," she continued. 

Demanding release of relief to farmers, Selja said, "Cotton, paddy, and other crops of over one lakh farmers were destroyed in the state, while other reports, including special Girdawari, are still trapped in the districts." With the intention of not giving compensation, the government is making an excuse that it has not yet received the report from the DC offices.”