Bathinda: Unseasonal rainfall across Punjab has damaged paddy and cotton crops, submerging grain markets and disrupting procurement just as the harvest season gets underway.Punjab recorded 477% excess rainfall in 24 hours from 8:30 am on Saturday, receiving 2.3 mm of rain against the normal of 0.4 mm. Fazilka district topped the list with 28 mm, followed by Faridkot (9 mm), Muktsar (7.7 mm), Pathankot (3.9 mm), Ferozepur (2.4 mm) and Bathinda (1.3 mm).This spike comes after a dry southwest monsoon (June–Sept), during which the state faced a 40% rainfall deficit. As of Oct 10, only 12% of the paddy crop had been harvested.Punjab State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has cautioned against thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds (50-60 kmph), hailstorms and moderate to heavy rains in the next 24 hours in Barnala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Pathankot, Patiala, Sangrur and SBS Nagar districts.In Fazilka, a three-hour storm Sunday morning left the main grain market submerged under nearly three feet of water, leaving heaps of paddy floating. Goldy Sachdeva, president, Fazilka Arhtiya Association, estimated losses at nearly Rs 15 crore and accused officials of ignoring requests to allow crop stacking in private covered yards.Protesting against the inadequate arrangements, the association blocked the Fazilka-Ferozepur national highway on Sunday. Farmers accused the administration of failing to make necessary arrangements at the mandis, saying the lack of drainage facilities caused losses running into lakhs of rupees. Farmers said they had earlier been allowed to keep their paddy in the private yards of commission agents, but the administration had this time prevented them from using the facilities. Sachdeva said piles of paddy had accumulated in the markets due to delays in lifting the crop and a shortage of storage space.Similar flooding was reported in Malout (Muktsar), Mansa, Barnala and Bathinda. Farmer Balkar Singh from Rattakhera village said they have been waiting for their crop to be purchased for the last eight days. “We were told that it would be done Sunday but heavy rain dashed our hopes. Now, the moisture content has risen considerably and we will have to wait longer to sell the crop.“Punjab agriculture department director Gurjit Singh Brar told TOI they are seeking details of damage to crops. He said 88% of the crop is still to be harvested, warning that more rainfall could threaten cotton crop quality if water stagnates in the fields.Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board chairman Harchand Singh Barsat said proper arrangements have been made for paddy procurement in anticipation of a bumper crop. He promised to rectify operational shortcomings and clarified that private yard stacking is not banned.Farmer organisations are demanding an immediate girdawari (crop damage assessment) and govt compensation for the losses.
