Will make Punjab waterlogging free: Mann
CHANDIGARH: Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has demanded an immediate solution to the problem of water logging in the fields. Hooda said farmers in many areas of the state including Kaithal, Hisar, Bhiwani, Ambala, Sirsa, Rohtak, Jind, Sonipat, Kurukshetra, Karnal, and Fatehabad have been hit by the problem of water logging.
“Thousands of acres of farmers’ crops have been submerged. More than a week has gone by but the government did not take any steps for draining out the water from the fields.
Due to the rains of the last few days, thousands of acres of paddy, cotton and jowar crops have been badly damaged. Heavy rain is forecast in the coming days. In such a situation, farmers fear that this problem may amplify in the coming days,” Hooda said.
Hooda expressed fears that a large part of the farmer’s crop will get waterlogged due to the weather and the neglect of the government if the situation continues and the government does not take any immediate steps to bring relief to the farmers.
“This will have a major impact on the production of crops including paddy, cotton, sugarcane, and jowar. This going to add to the problems of the farmers who are already facing huge losses,” he said.
“The farmer is facing the wrath of nature for the last several cropping seasons, but despite the announcement of the government and crop insurance scheme, the farmers could not get the compensation.
It is once again clear that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is not proving beneficial for the farmers,” Hooda further added.
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said that the state government will evolve a foolproof plan for eradicating waterlogging from the state especially the Malwa region.
The Chief Minister, who undertook a whirlwind tour of the waterlogging-affected villages of Sri Muktsar Sahib and Fazilka districts, said that he had asked the officers to prepare a foolproof plan for ensuring that the scourge of waterlogging is eliminated in entire state at the earliest.
He said that the state government will start work on this project at war footing so that the devastation caused by waterlogging is checked immediately. Bhagwant Mann said that there is no dearth of funds for this noble cause as state government is duty bound to ensure that the problem of waterlogging is solved at the earliest.
He assured the farmers that from next year waterlogging will no longer bring misery in any part of the state. Assailing that the previous state government, the Chief Minister said that the previous governments have never taken this problem seriously due to which the situation has aggravated now. He said that faulty planning and haphazard execution of antiwaterlogging measures during previous regimes have added to the woes of the farmers.