Farmers will be duly compensated: Kangar

Jalandhar, August 21

Punjab Revenue Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar today said the state government would duly compensate the farmers of Shahkot subdivision for their losses after a special girdawari to assess the damage caused to the paddy crop.

The minister, accompanied by MLAs Rana Gurjit Singh and Hardev Singh Laddi, conducted a tour in the boat to assess the loss of crop to the farmers. He said the state government was committed for bailing out the farmers of the region from the crisis. Kangar said roughly crop spread over 30,000 acres in the subdivision has been destroyed due to the Sutlej breach. The minister said the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has already asked the Deputy Commissioner to get the losses incurred by the farmers ascertained to ensure adequate and timely compensation for them. Kangar said the state government would extend a helping hand to the farmers in this hour of crisis and assure that even a single penny of their loss was fully compensated.

He said the state government was already carrying out a major relief operation to assure that people do not face any problem.

Villagers demand Rs 60K/acre

Farmers from Janian Chahal, Chak Wadala and Gatti Peer Baksh falling in Shahkot subdivision, who have all their fields submerged in waters, have demanded a compensation of Rs 60,000 per acre. Sukhwinder Singh, a farmer of Gatti Peer Baksh, said: “The girdawaris and compensations are never helpful to us. While the crop sale would have got us Rs 60,000 per acre, the compensation does not match it at all. The governments do not give anything more than Rs 8,000 per acre.”