Gujarat govt to compensate farmers for damage to crops

Gandhinagar: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday said the government will soon carry out a survey on the damage to crops in the state due to the unseasonal rain in the last couple of days.

Rupani said, "We will carry out a survey wherever unseasonal rains and crop damage are reported and will disburse compensation to the affected farmers accordingly. But that will be after a couple of days, as there is still rainy weather continuing in the state."

A spell of untimely rain in various parts of Gujarat has caused major damage to the standing crops. Groundnuts, cumin and cotton have been significantly affected, according to sources.

The influence of multiple weather systems acting in tandem has not only caused damage to the standing crops but also to the harvested produce with the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) as well. The State Emergency Operation Centre shows that more than 75 taluks (tehsils) in the state received untimely rain since Thursday evening.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted rain in Saurashtra and south Gujarat between December 10 and 14.

Rain and light showers were reported in Amreli, Veraval, Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Gandhinagar, Valsad and Surat on Thursday and Friday.

The Opposition Congress and farmers have demanded that the state government assess the damage caused by the unseasonal rain and compensate the farmers.