As the majority of districts in Punjab continue to reel under floods, anguished farmers, who are staring at crop failure, have decided to take on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for its alleged failure to tackle the situation.
Farmer outfits, including Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee and Bharatiya Kisan Union (Azad), have announced protests outside the offices of Deputy Commissioners across the State on July 24, to press for immediate release of compensation for flood victims. They have threatened that if their demands were not met then railway tracks across the State would be blocked on July 25.
Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary of the Punjab unit of Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee, has alleged that the government machinery failed to assist the flood-hit people.“The government help has been too little so far. Crops, especially paddy, have been submerged following breaches in different rivers in the State. The government is suggesting replanting of paddy, but that’s not easy, the appropriate sowing time is over. We want immediate compensation for damaged crops. At least ₹50,000 per acre compensation should be given for all types of damaged kharif crops. The State government’s attitude has been far from being sympathetic towards farmers and they have been left to fight for themselves at such a critical juncture,” he told The Hindu on Thursday.
