With the distressed farmers who have suffered immense crop loss due to unseasonal rain and hailstorm in Uttar Pradesh getting little or no solace, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday urged the State Government to distribute immediate financial relief to them. Expressing concern over the spate of farmers’ suicide, Mr. Singh reiterated that they should not resort to extreme measures.
The Union Home Minister, who met the affected farmers in Sarsawan village in Saharanpur district in Western U.P. , said Rs. 506 crore given to the State from the National Disaster Relief Fund should be distributed among the farmers. Mr. Singh later visited Budaun district where he took stock of the crop damage suffered by the growers. Stating that no political meaning should be read into his visit as its sole purpose was to meet the affected farmers, Mr. Singh said in Saharanpur that the Central Government supported the State Government’s efforts to provide relief to the farmers. He assured the Centre’s help to the State in this regard. He said the Prime Minister was concerned at the loss and those who have suffered 33 per cent damage to their crops would be fully compensated.
The Union Home Minister appealed to the political parties to make a combined effort in helping the distressed farmers. Meanwhile, a farmer committed suicide in Budaun district on Wednesday. It was a double tragedy for the farmer’s family as his mother, unable to bear the loss of her son died of a heart attack, reports from Budaun said. Apart from suffering huge crop loss, the deceased farmer was under heavy bank debt. A farmer in Nandabhar village in Maharajganj district in Purvanchal (Eastern Uttar Pradesh) reportedly died due to shock while another farmer died on account of a heart attack in
Mahoba district. Reports claimed that three farmers died in Agra district in the last 24 hours. There has been no official confirmation of the number of farmers’ suicide in the State, which is said to be around 120. In all, 55 districts in the State have been affected by the unseasonal rain and hailstorm, the latest addition being Lucknow, which was declared “calamity -hit” by the district administration following a survey of the crop loss. About 1.57 lakh farmers in 950 villages have been hit.
Earlier, 30 districts were affected but the figure was revised to 44 after another spell of unseasonal rain. After a fresh assessment of the crop damage, the number of affected districts is now 55. A spokesperson said Rs. 1,087 crore has been sanctioned by the State for the affected districts.
