Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and state Congress president Kumari Selja on Tuesday demanded compensation for farmers in the state who suffered losses due to hailstorm two days ago.

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Hooda, who is the leader of the opposition, and Selja said farmers should be compensated at the earliest and a 'special girdwari' (revenue survey) should be carried out to assess the damage.

"Many crops, including mustard and cotton, have been ruined by this hailstorm and several farmers have also lost their livestock. Not only this, but farmers have also not received any compensation for the losses suffered due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms for several crop seasons. They should also be paid the pending compensation soon," Hooda said in a statement here.

Selja wrote a letter to the chief minister demanding a 'special girdwari' to assess the crop damage and urging for the farmers to be suitably compensated within 20 days. On Sunday, heavy rain lashed several places in Haryana, while some parts were also lashed by hailstorm. Hooda said that apart from facing the vagaries of weather, the farmers have been hit hard by harsh policies of the BJP-led government.

"During BJP's rule, farmers are not getting compensation, the proper rate of crops and the timely payment for crops. Payment of paddy for many farmers is still pending," Hooda said.

Hooda also attacked the Khattar government over the "meagre" increase in cane prices and said the recent increase of Rs 10 per quintal was a cruel joke on farmers as they feel that the rise is way below the increase in input costs.?

"During the previous Congress government, the sugarcane rate was raised from Rs 117 to Rs 310 per quintal, a jump of 3 times. But in six years of the BJP government, the cane rate has barely increased from Rs 30 to 40, while the cost of farming and inputs like petrol, diesel, fertilizer, seeds, medicines prices and taxes on farming equipment have increased drastically," he said.

"Farmers' organizations say that sugarcane rate should be at least Rs 400 per quintal keeping in mind various costs," he added.

Hooda said despite the defeat in Baroda bypolls recently the government is not paying attention to the issues of farmers.

"Like Baroda, the farmers of Haryana want to teach this government a lesson through the power of their ballots. Looking at the public sentiment and the way this government is behaving, it seems they will get an opportunity soon. The government has fallen in the eyes of the people, it cannot last long in power," he claimed.
 

The story has been taken from a news agency