Punjab CM Mann orders assessment of crop damage, assures compensation

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said his government has ordered a crop loss assessment to assess damage caused by inclement weather, asserting that affected farmers will be given compensation.

"We have given orders for 'girdawari' and after conducting it, whosoever suffered crop damage will be given compensation," said Mann while speaking to reporters here.

The chief minister was replying to a question on crop damage in many parts of the state caused by rains 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 rains and hailstorms.

The farmers had also demanded that the state government conduct a crop loss assessment in affected districts to award compensation to them.

Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Sunday 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.