AMRITSAR – With yet another spell of rain lashing the region, the standing paddy crop has suffered further damage with reports of lodging of crop pouring in from different pockets of Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts.
Bishan Singh, a farmer from Attari, said: “The rain, accompanied by high-velocity winds, caused more damage this time. It led to lodging of the 1121 variety which was nearing maturity.” He said they had installed motors to drain out the water from their fields. He said the downpour had wiped out hopes of a good harvest.
Makhan Singh, a farmer from Majitha, said at this stage, more rain meant more losses. He said many farmers were about to start harvesting but now that their fields had been inundated, they would have to wait for another week, at least. “The unexpected rain has left us counting our losses,” he added.
But Amritsar Chief Agriculture Officer Paramjit Singh Sandhu claimed the latest spell of rain had not caused much damage to paddy, despite reports of lodging. Farmers’ leader Satnam Singh Ajnala said that the basmati crop had been flattened and this would certainly affect the yield. He said paddy on 13,000 acres had been destroyed in the Ajnala subdivision alone.
He said paddy grown on 42,000 hectares and cotton grown on 45,000 hectares had suffered damage. Tejinder Singh from Rasulpur and Pargat Singh from Chamba village in Tarn Taran district said the paddy crop had been flattened on vast stretches of land in Khadoor Sahib and Khemkaran as well.
