Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today assured the farmers of Punjab affected by floods that Centre stands firmly with them in this hour of natural calamity. Mr Chouhan said this while chairing a high-level meeting in New Delhi to review the nationwide status of the agriculture sector. During the meeting, the Minister reviewed the rainfall situation across various states and held detailed discussions with officials regarding the floods in parts of Punjab and their impact on crops. Mr Chouhan said that he will soon visit the flood-affected areas of Punjab to take stock of the situation on the ground and personally meet the distressed farmers to ensure all possible assistance.
The Minister also reviewed progress in horticulture along with food grain crops. Mr Chouhan was further briefed by the officials of the Ministry on rainfall across states and the status of reservoirs. He was informed that many states received above-average rainfall this year, which is beneficial for crops. The Minister also directed officials to encourage farmers to adopt integrated farming, including horticulture along with food grain crops, so that they can earn higher incomes. He added that the Integrated Farming Systems should be widely promoted among farmers.
Meanwhile, Punjab has lost 29 lives in the prevailing floods in the state and 3 persons are missing, since August 1st till date. The lives have been lost in all the 12 districts affected in the floods. Maximum 6 deaths have occurred in Pathankot and reports of missing persons have also come from this border district. Quoting official reports released by the state government, our Jalandhar Correspondent reports that over 2.46 lakh population has been affected. Maximum 1.45 lakh in Gurdaspur alone. Over 15 thousand 600 persons have been evacuated. The floods have affected more than 94, 000 hectares of crop area in the state. The misery has not stopped yet.
