Crops sown in 53,000 hectares destroyed in recent floods in Haridwar

Crops sown in over 53,000 hectares in Laksar, Khanpur and Manglaur in Haridwar district of Uttarakhand have been destroyed in the recent floods, the state agriculture minister has said.

Uttarakhand's Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi, who visited more than 35 flood-hit villages of the district on Sunday, said the damage is pegged at around Rs 38 crore as per preliminary estimates.

Crops in more than 91,000 hectares of area were sown in the district.

Damaged crops include sugarcane, paddy and vegetables, Joshi said, adding that the affected areas will be declared disaster-hit and adequate compensation will be given to farmers, Joshi said.

He said apart from the compensation, he will request the chief minister to provide financial assistance from the disaster relief fund to farmers as per central government norms.

The Pushkar Singh Dhami government stands with the disaster-hit people and they will be given all possible assistance, Joshi said.

There will be a stay of three months on the recovery of agricultural loans from farmers and their demand for interest waiver will also be considered, he said.

Chemical effluents from State Infrastructure And Industrial Development Corporation Of Uttarakhand Ltd, which made their way into the fields during the floods, also seem to have damaged the crops, Joshi said, adding that officials have been asked to look into the matter.