Moga farmers reject compensation

Tota Singh Wala, the ancestral village of minister Tota Singh, was the first he visited on Saturday.

Among the other villages affected are Bhaini, Melak Kanga, Akalian walan, Mandar and Lalihandi.

The compensation that has been offered includes Rs 1,500 from the central government and Rs 3,500 from the state government. Tota Singh said that the central government needed to increase its share for farmers. Replying to farmers’ queries, he said the state government was paying the adequate share.

Tota Singh also ordered the Deputy Commissioner to conduct a fresh survey of the losses incurred by each farmer and to submit a report within three days.

Among the villages he visited on Saturday were those situated near river Sutlej. Farmers said that each year either crops are destroyed due to breach of canal or hailstorms. This year, the canal issue was solved but the hailstorm on Thursday destroyed the wheat crop.

The farmers also demanded that they be given maize seeds on subsidised rates so that they could compensate the loss. The minister assured them of looking into the demand.

Agriculture Development Officer Jaswinder Singh, however, told farmers that they should plant sugarcane instead of maize, which is least affected by rain.