Daily Times

Wheat-and-mustard-crops-to-be-damaged-by-heavy-rainsRecent stormy rains and severe thunderstorms in the country have completely destroyed the wheat crop in Bahawalpur division. Farmers have appealed to the Punjab chief minister to immediately declare the affected areas disaster-hit. Jam Hazor Bakhsh, central chairman of Kissan Board Pakistan, said that not only wheat crop but also the trees and animals were badly affected by the devastating rains. He said that in such a dangerous situation, the Punjab government should provide immediate financial assistance to the poor farmers so that they can stand on their feet. He said that if the farmers are not financed, they will have serious difficulty in growing cotton crop. “We will continue to call for the rights of our poor farmers at all times,” said the central president of the Farmers Board. Landlord and former civil judge Yahya Khan Kalachi said that earlier locust had sparked fears among the farmers and now that rain and thunderstorms had destroyed crops. Farmers are in severe shock. The government should consider the affected areas as disaster-hit and provide immediate agricultural relief package. The chief of the political social leader and landlord Muhammad Fayyaz Khan said that the damages to the wheat crops would have devastating effects on the economy of the country. The shock is unbearable, he said, and demanded that agricultural loans and agricultural taxes be waived on farmers. DC Bahawalpur Focal Person Junaid Khan said that the administration is very busy with the cause of Coronavirus but DC Bahawalpur will convene a meeting in this regard soon. He said that regular survey will be conducted across the district only after the orders of the Chief Minister.

Deputy Director Agriculture Bahawalpur Hafiz Shafiq said that the agriculture department is beside its poor farmers when the wheat crop is affected and the department has surveyed the affected areas but the regular surveys will be done on the orders of the chief minister. The country is facing a financial and economic crisis as the wheat crop is affected due to rains across Punjab.

Being an agricultural country, the government needs to take an interest in the agriculture sector. The government should provide a relief package to the poor farmers.