Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on Friday expressed concern over inadequate arrangements by the State government for the safety of wheat crop, harvesting of which is in full swing.
Mr. Hooda said that hundreds of acres of wheat crop were destroyed in fire incidents in Rohtak’s Makdauli, Rithal, Basantpur, Brahmanwas, Dhamad, Khidwali, Nidana, Samargopalpur, Kharavad, Needana, Bahu Akbarpur and Sisar villages recently, Similarly, several acres of crops of farmers were destroyed in different districts, including Hisar, Jind, Jhajjar and Fatehabad, he added.
“Fire broke out in many places due to yesterday’s (April 14) thunderstorm, short circuit and other reasons. In such a situation, efforts should be made to increase awareness among farmers and general public by the government. Farmers need to be more careful about this,” he said. He demanded a compensation of at least ₹25,000 per acre to the farmers affected by the fire incidents.
He said the State government should ensure that the fire department increases its capacity during the harvesting season so that more and more vehicles can reach the spot if needed and farmers can be saved from major losses. “Today the farmer’s crop is neither safe in the field, nor in the ‘mandis’ (yards). No arrangement has been made to cover the crops of the farmers who are reaching the ‘mandis’ with their crops and millions of tonnes of food grains are lying under the open sky,” he alleged.
“Till now no arrangement for lifting has been made by the government nor for payment of farmers. The Meteorological Department has predicted thunderstorms and rain in the coming days. In such a situation, keeping the crop in the open is harmful to both the farmer and the government,” he added.
Mr. Hooda said the farmers of the State were facing calamities like weather, inflation, and fire incidents and needed help from the government. “Government should give ₹500 per quintal bonus to the farmers on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat.
