Haryana paddy area crosses target

The paddy area under Haryana has crossed the target area despite weather playing a truant role.

According to state agriculture department officials, area under paddy in Haryana has crossed the target area of 1,150,000 hectares. The total area under paddy this year has touched 1,153,000 hectares, as against 1,205,000 hectares area achieved last year.

The officials maintained out of the 1,153,000 hectares, area under basmati is expected to touch 6,250,000 lakh hectares, more than 50 per cent on account of re-transplantation. Farmers in districts, who suffered losses to the crop on account of water deluging the fields, opted for basmati sowing thus leading to increase in the area under basmati. Earlier the state agriculture department had predicted equal percentage of area under basmati and common paddy.

Even as the area under paddy fell short from last year figure (1,205,000 hectares), still the agriculture department officials maintained attaining the target was no less an achievement, considering the floods, that have ravaged the state last month.

According to revenue and disaster management officials area around 194,000 hectares under kharif crop was affected because of the floods and estimated loss to the crops was pegged at Rs 95 crore.

Crops like paddy, cotton and sugarcane bore the brunt of the ravaging floods which lashed the districts including Sirsa, Fatehabad, Ambala, Kurukshetra, and Kaithal.

The officials maintained re-transplantation was been done in the affected area which helped the cause for paddy crop thus helping achieve the target area.

The officials maintained the state government had made provisions for supplying seeds of Basmati varieties at subsidised rate in the flood-affected areas so that the farmer may raise fresh nursery or go for direct seeding of the Basmati varieties.