Chandigarh, April 6 Senior SAD leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal urged the Union Minister of Agriculture to send a special team to Punjab to assess the damage caused to the standing wheat crop by hailstorms.
She urged Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to release a special compensation package for affected farmers.
On the other hand, Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia demanded immediate compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre from the state government.
Bathinda MP Harsimrat, who wrote to the Union Agriculture Minister, also appealed to him to issue directions to defer interest on loans taken by affected farmers from cooperative societies for one year, besides providing fertilizers to these farmers at concessional rates.
"This will go a long way in helping the affected farmers to recover," she asserted.
Giving details, Harsimrat said that a large part of Punjab was hit by unseasonal rain, hailstorms, and gusty winds three days ago.
She said that this led to the flattening of wheat crops over several thousand acres, and even damaged the kernels, making the crop unfit for harvesting.
She asserted that the hailstorm, which struck parts of Bathinda, Mansa, Fazilka, Moga, and Sri Muktsar Sahib in the Malwa region, also affected parts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Hoshiarpur, and Fatehgarh Sahib.
"Besides destroying the wheat crop over vast tracts of land, the hailstorm has also damaged the maize crop at various places," said the former Union Minister.
Calling for help from the Centre, the MP said that the farmers of the state were in utter despair as they had been "abandoned" by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
She said that the AAP government had not conducted any surveys to assess the damage caused to the wheat crop, nor had it announced any compensation or provided any to the farmers.
Akali leader Majithia said that the hailstorm has "broken the backbone of farmers, but not the sleep of the government," alleging a lack of urgency in providing relief.
Majithia reminded Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of his earlier promise that compensation for crop loss would be given first, followed by surveys.
Calling for long-term measures, Majithia urged the government to bring a law in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha session to ensure compensation not just for crops but also for losses to fruits, flowers, and vegetables.
Expressing concern over widespread damage, Majithia said that crops ranging from wheat to vegetables have suffered massive losses, leaving farmers financially and emotionally shattered.
He added that farmers, already burdened by debt, deserve timely compensation, which is their right and not a favour, as the CM had earlier stated.
After visiting villages Nag Nave, Nag Kalan, and Nag Khurd in the Majitha constituency, Majithia said that vegetable crops in particular have been severely hit.