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| Farmers devastated, announce relief for crop loss without delay: Harsh Dev Singh to government | | | 
Early Times Report
RAMGARH, Oct 25: Seeking early announcement of compensation to the farmers of Jammu region for massive losses caused to crops due to torrential rains and heavy hailstorm recently, scores of Panther activists along with aggrieved farmers of border areas led by Harsh Dev Singh, Chairman-JKNPP and Yashpaul Kundal, General Secretary took out a massive procession at Ramgarh town in Vijaypur constituency.
The rally culminated at the office of Tehsildar, Ramgarh where the leaders addressed the gathering. Later, a deputation led by Singh submitted a detailed memorandum to the government through the concerned Tehsildar seeking assessment of the loss of crops and adequate compensation for the affected farmers without delay.
Singh regretted that despite huge devastation of paddy as well as the agricultural fields, the government had failed to announce any relief package despite the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He said that paddy growers had suffered unimaginable damages to their standing crops due to vagaries of weather which needed immediate attention of the government. He said that massive downpour of rains and hailstones had led to water logging burying the produce with the farmers left high and dry.
Singh deplored the ‘indifferent’ and ‘apathetic’ approach of the administration who had failed to pay even a visit to the affected areas to take stock of the situation and to assess the losses sustained by farmers. “Further border tensions and frequent Pak shelling has aggravated their woes with a callous and apathetic government least bothered about the concerns of these nationalist peasants. While the J&K govt. always boasted of rare quality Basmati production in Jammu as compared to other states, it has failed to provide the much needed succor to the cultivating sections and agriculturists. The fruit and vegetable growers in the hilly areas have also been equally devastated with no one to lend ears to their shrill cries”, Singh said.
Anguished over the discrimination meted out to the farmers of Jammu region in setting MSP of crops, Singh alleged that two years ago an order was issued by the government fixing the Minimum Support Prime (MSP) for Kashmiri apples by introducing Market Invention Scheme (MIS) without affecting any corresponding increase in the support prices of any of the crops produced by Jammu region farmers. The Jammu farmers however, particularly the Basmati growers who had been seeking identical relief for damages and fixation of adequate MSP for their produce continued to be ignored and disregarded, he said.
Singh said that the farmers of border belt raising tradition Basmati crop over 45,000 hectares of land extending from Akhnoor area to Samba had been forced to starvation due to the destruction of their crops by catastrophic rains and hailstorm. He called upon Home Minister to direct the JK administration to initiate immediate assessment of the loss of crops followed by announcement of adequate compensation to the aggrieved farmers of Jammu region without any delay.
Kundal said that the government needed to realize that if Kashmir orchardists/farmers are in trouble due to prevailing crisis, the farmers of the border belt of Jammu region were also in distress due to hostile weather and untimely rains besides Pak misadventures carried out by the rogue nation on regular basis. He ridiculed tall claims of the centre that Jammu region would be getting unbiased treatment at the hands of government after the abrogation of Article 370. |
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