Chandigarh, April 8: Punjab’s Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian has urged the central government to send a high-level team to assess the damage caused to wheat and other rabi crops due to unseasonal heavy rains and hailstorms.
In a letter addressed to Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, he highlighted the severe impact of adverse weather on wheat crops. Khudian noted that farmers had anticipated a bumper harvest from the 3.5 million hectares planted with wheat, but persistent rains and hail have caused significant losses, putting the farming community in distress.
According to initial assessments by the state’s agriculture department, over 130,000 acres have reported crop losses. The ongoing rainfall is exacerbating the damage, and the final figures may rise further.
Khudian emphasized that the losses are not limited to wheat alone. Several districts, including Fazilka, Firozpur, Muktsar Sahib, Bathinda, Amritsar, Moga, and Mansa, have also seen damage to vegetables, fodder, and other rabi crops. This crop loss poses a threat to farmers’ livelihoods and the state’s agricultural economy.
He mentioned that the state government has already ordered a special ‘Girdawari’ (survey) to assess the crop damage. Given the extent of the losses and the economic burden on farmers, he called for immediate relief and compensation from the central government.
Khudian stressed the urgent need for a central team to conduct a comprehensive assessment and assured that the state government is fully committed to supporting its farmers, promising all possible cooperation to the central team.
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