STATE TIMES NEWS
SUNDERBANI: Ravinder Sharma (Ex-MLC) Chief Spokesperson JKPCC expressed serious concern over the lukewarm response towards farmers of Nowshera-Sunderbani whose crops were totally destroyed due to unprecedented rains and hail stone storm.
Sharma was speaking in a meeting of prominent Congress workers and farmerswas held at Sunderbanis, presided over by Thakur Shamsher Singh. He said that farmers of Sunderbani, Beripattan and part of Nowshera Tehsils have suffered huge loss caused due to unprecedented rains and devastating hailstone which is first of its kind in the history so far. The wheat crops, vegetables and the fruit crops and other live stock of the farmers have been adversely affected. In this connection, he himself led a delegation and met the Divisional Commissioner Jammu and apprised him of the huge loss to the standing crops and other property due to the heavy rains and hailstones .
He also showed him sample cases of damaged crops from the areas in order to show the total loss of all kinds of crops , vegetable , fruits and pulses in the badly affected pockets . He said the Divisional Commissioner talked to DCC Rajouri and passed on instructions to him in this regard for proper assessment and timely delivery of the relief to the affected people at the earliest. But it was unfortunate that nothing has been done so far. Mr. Sharma demanded free ration for affected people for six months, besides providing of seed, fertilizers on subsidized rates and the waiving off agriculture loans against those people whose crops have haven totally damaged.
PCC Chief Spokesperson further said that many genuine people whose house were on State land and adversely affected in the last year’s rains and devastating flood have been deprived from the relief. He demanded that the concerned authorities should ensure that all the genuine leftover people including those whose houses are built on state land should be included in the fresh lists for relief/compensation.
He also expressed concern over the supply of wheat grain instead of wheat flour and reducing the quota of sugar by the Govt. He blame previous PDP-BJP Govt. who derailed the ration supply system in the state due to unplanned and hasty decision without taking adequate measures to maintain the quota of ration, as a result the people are suffering. He demanded that people should get full scale of atta and sugar at Govt. ration depots.
