Haryana CM orders special 'girdawari' to assess crop loss

CHANDIGARH : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday asked the farmers not to worry about compensation for their crops, mainly the paddy, damaged due to the adverse weather conditions as directions have been issued for a special girdawari (inspection).

Farmers will be given complete compensation for the loss of their crop, he said.

The Chief Minister told the media that the strike of arhtiyas or commission agents has been called off and some of their demands have been accepted.

Besides, the government has written a letter to the Central government regarding their demands like increasing their commission, he added.

Standing paddy crop in hundreds of acres in Haryana has been damaged due to untimely rains last week, revenue and agriculture officials said on Tuesday.

Agriculture Department officials said the losses could run into hundreds of crores, though the exact damage would be known only after assessment by revenue officials across the state.

There were also reports of damage to the paddy crop in Punjab, another prominent granary. The Opposition said the damage was widespread in Ropar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Kapurthala, and Bhatinda areas and sought compensation for the affected farmers within a stipulated time.

Highlighting the plight of farmers, Congress leader and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had demanded compensation for farmers as huge paddy crops across the state have been damaged owing to untimely rain. He also sought a girdawari (harvest inspection) for assessment of crop damage in the past two days.