Chandigarh, April 6 Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Monday appealed to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for urgent assistance to farmers whose crops have been destroyed due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms.
In a statement, Warring said that a large part of Punjab, particularly the Malwa belt, had been hit by heavy rains and a severe hailstorm, which had not only flattened the wheat crop but also completely destroyed it.
He said that the extent of the damage is such that the crops cannot even be used for fodder.
Criticizing the Punjab government, Warring claimed that it had failed to reach out to the affected farmers.
He said that the extent of damage and devastation is similar to what happened during the devastating floods last year.
Asserting that he did not have much hope from the state government, he disclosed that it had not provided compensation to the majority of people who had lost crops and property during the floods.
Warring said that the standard announcement by the government to conduct the 'girdawari' (survey) of the damaged crops would not serve any purpose.
He asked, "What is there to survey when the crops over entire fields are lying flattened?"
The Punjab Congress chief said that the 'girdawari' announcements are made just to mislead the victims.
He said that if the state government's intentions were clear, it would provide some immediate interim relief to the farmers and not wait for the 'girdawari' reports.
The Ludhiana MP said that he had written to Union minister Chouhan and would be meeting him in Delhi after visiting the affected areas.
He said that he will plead for immediate assistance to the affected farmers as they cannot wait for the state government's survey as nobody knows when the survey will be completed, and when the compensation will be paid when the past experience is "bad and disappointing".