Damaged paddy fields in Punjab. (Express photo)
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday demanded that the Congress government come out with a comprehensive relief package for farmers whose crops have been damaged by incessant rainfall.
In a statement here, SAD Kisan Wing president and former minister Sikander Singh Maluka said it was shocking that no relief measures had been announced by the Congress government to aid the beleaguered peasantry that was facing an unimaginable crisis with cotton and paddy crops damaged over vast swathes in the state.
“We demand immediate relief of Rs 15,000 per acre for damage to cotton and paddy crops and Rs 20,000 per acre for paddy and vegetable crops. This is an interim solution only. A more comprehensive relief can be awarded once all assessments are done,” Maluka said.
The Kisan Wing president said it was condemnable that farmers were suffering since the last two days “but neither the chief minister nor any ministers or even Congress legislators had found time for them”.
“The entire Congress party is engaged in celebrating their bogus victories in the Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad elections which they won by resorting to blatant goondaism. They are so power hungry that they cannot see the suffering of the anndaata (farmer) who is facing a tragedy in the making,” said Maluka.