What govt help,ask farmers as they foot the flood bill

Mandhir Singh of Kartarpur,who owns 15 acres,said he had already spent nearly Rs 5,000 per acre on labour,fetilisers and water. “After the floods,I spent Rs 1,500 per acre to buy saplings,then paid Rs 2,500 per acre to plant them. I still have to spend on fertilisers. The only help the government has sent us was in the form of a doctor who visited the village for two days during the floods. He disappeared after the water receded.”

In Rasoli,sarpanch Bhupinder Singh said the breach in their village is still to be repaired. He said this village and five adjacent ones fear they will lose crop if there are fresh rains. He said: “We got some ration but you know how the system works. When the Patiala district commissioner was to visit a nearby village a few days ago,all the ration and fodder was supplied to that village.”

Meanwhile,The Indian Express visited many other villages and found the situation grim at Ground Zero. Children could be seen helping their parents put back their destroyed homes,and no administration officials were in sight.

Shutrana’s Jeevan Singh said: “It’s been three weeks after the floods. I walked six kilometres on flooded roads and got only a week’s ration. We are buying everything with our own money.”

Anxious villagers met the Express team,thinking we were from the administration. Villagers in Arnetu said they were the first to stop and inquire about them. A cavalcade of red-beaconed cars had passed through but no one got off to speak to villagers,they said.

Drinking water was also a big problem in numerous villages since the tubewells are choked with eroded soil. The villagers have to travel far for water. Darshan Singh of Chichriwala said: “A team of doctors came one day with an Akali leader to distribute chlorine tablets and that was it.”

Meanwhile,farmers fear the delay in planting paddy will upset the crop cycle. If paddy grows late,they won’t be able to save a penny and it will also hit the plantation of wheat.