Kolkata: State Agriculture department is conducting a survey to determine the extent of damage to paddy cultivation in various districts caused by untimely rain.
State Agriculture minister Asish Banerjee has instructed the department officials to carry out a detailed survey, to ascertain the loss which paddy farmers have been facing. The officials of the Agriculture department will also examine to ascertain whether the farmers producing other food grains had suffered any such loss.
The department may extend financial assistance to the farmers who have incurred loss due to rain. The minister has asked the department officials to submit the report within March 13. The final decision on the financial assistance will be taken after examining the survey report in detail.
"The paddy farmers in various districts have lost their crops due to the untimely rain. The farmers in the districts of Burdwan, Birbhum and Murshidabad have been affected the most. We are considering how they can be compensated after going through the report," Banerjee said.
The officials of the department in the districts have been asked to visit the affected areas, talk to the farmers, collect data from the affected ones and assess the extent of the damage. The officials will submit the final report in this regard on the basis of their observation.
According to the paddy farmers in the affected districts, nearly 40 percent of their produce might have been damaged in the rain that lashed various South Bengal districts a few days ago. As per a preliminary estimate, as many as 4 lakh farmers were directly affected.
It has also been learnt that the farmers were asked to submit an application form to the respective offices of the department at the block and sub-divisional levels.
Meanwhile, some paddy farmers from Keshpur in West Midnapore on Sunday staged a sit-in demonstration on a nearby state highway, demanding compensation for the huge loss they might be incurring due to rain and hailstorms in some parts of the state.
The Agriculture department has already published a notification regarding the procurement of paddy from farmers by the government. After being prodded by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the department had initiated the process for direct procurement of crops from farmers.
The Chief Minister had issued strict instruction to the Food Supplies and Agriculture department to take stern action to get rid of the middlemen system, due to which the farmers were often hoodwinked by touts.