Chandigarh, April 6 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Monday that his government has ordered a crop loss assessment to assess the damage caused by inclement weather, asserting that affected farmers will be compensated.
"We have ordered 'girdawari', and after conducting it, those who have suffered crop damage will be compensated," said Mann while speaking to reporters here.
The chief minister was responding to a question on crop damage in many parts of the state caused by rain and hailstorms.
On Sunday, farmers had demanded compensation for crop damage caused by rain and hailstorms in various parts of the state.
Farmers have reported extensive crop damage at various locations, including Amritsar, Bathinda, Muktsar, Hoshiarpur, Tarn Taran and Fatehgarh Sahib, due to rain and hailstorms.
The farmers had also demanded that the state government conduct a crop loss assessment in affected districts to award them compensation.
Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa wrote to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, demanding a relief package for affected farmers.
In his communication, Randhawa wrote that over the past week, from March 30 and 31 onwards, a series of active Western Disturbances, accompanied by cyclonic circulation, has unleashed unseasonal rain, strong winds, and repeated hailstorms across large parts of Punjab, including Bathinda, Mansa, Fazilka, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Barnala, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Hoshiarpur, and Gurdaspur.