Widespread rains lash Punjab, Hry; crop loss assessment ordered in Punjab

Widespread rains lashed Punjab and Haryana on Friday, triggering fear among farmers about damage to wheat crop almost a month before the harvesting season.

"Rains are not good at this stage and it will certainly affect yield of wheat," Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh said.

In view of the untimely rains and hailstorm, the Punjab government ordered a assessment of crop loss and all deputy commissioners have been asked to submit their preliminary report on Monday.

Earlier, the AAP, which is the main opposition party in Punjab, demanded that an assessment of crop loss be conducted, with party legislator Harpal Singh Cheema writing to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh demanding 100 per cent compensation for crop loss due to untimely rains.

He claimed that rains and hailstorm have damaged standing crops in several parts of Punjab.

Expressing concern over the losses, the Punjab chief minister ordered urgent steps to ascertain the extent of the damage to ensure that due compensation can be awarded to the affected farmers at the earliest.

He directed the financial commissioner revenue to issue detailed instructions to all deputy commissioners to conduct special assessment of crop loss, a statement said.

Amarinder Singh also asked the revenue minister and other senior officers to tour the rain and hailstorm affected areas extensively and conduct on-ground assessment.

A senior official of the Punjab agriculture department had earlier said the current spell of rain would not cause any damage to standing wheat crop if it is not accompanied by high-velocity winds which could flatten the crop adversely impacting the yield.

Punjab, known as the food bowl of the country, is expecting more than 175 lakh tonne of wheat output, the harvesting of which would start in April.

According to the meteorological department, Ambala, Karnal, Bhiwani, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala witnessed 5 mm, 4 mm, 7 mm, 0.5 mm, 5 mm and 3 mm of rainfall respectively.

Chandigarh, the common capital of Punjab and Haryana received 4.4 mm of rain. Hisar was the wettest place in Haryana with 37 mm of rain followed by Narnaul which gauged 30 mm of rainfall.

Following the rains, maximum temperatures dropped several notches below the normal and settling between 17 degrees Celsius and 21 degrees Celsius.