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Ahmedabad, Nov 24 (IANS) The process of filing applications for government assistance following crop damage due to unseasonal rains is in full swing in Gujarat’s Botad district.
According to District Agriculture Officer UJ Patel, about 57 thousand farmers have submitted their forms in just 10 days.
Form filling began on 14 November, and between the afternoon of 14 November and the afternoon of 24 November, the number of applications increased across the district.
Officials estimate that 70 percent of the total workload has been completed, while 30 percent of farmers have still not applied. A survey conducted in 189 villages revealed that 1,78,611 survey areas suffered crop damage of 33 per cent or more, making farmers eligible for compensation.
District Agriculture Officer UJ Patel has urged all remaining farmers to submit their applications before the November 28 deadline, warning that missing the date could deprive them of vital financial assistance.
Earlier, the Gujarat government had announced a relief package of Rs 10,000 crore for farmers whose kharif crops were damaged due to recent unseasonal rains, with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel calling it the “worst in two decades”.
The announcement came before the state began procurement of major kharif crops including groundnut, moong, urad and soybean at minimum support price (MSP), a procurement cycle worth over Rs 15,000 crore.
CM Patel, who visited the affected districts along with senior ministers, said the government is committed to supporting farmers during what he termed a “natural disaster”.
“With full sensitivity, we stand with our farmers in these difficult times,” he said in an official statement.
The latest package follows the government’s earlier announcement of Rs 947 crore for relief for crop losses due to prolonged monsoon rains in August and September, which had severely affected districts like Junagadh, Panchmahal, Kutch, Patan and newly formed Vav-Tharad.
This time, untimely rains have largely affected farmers in Saurashtra and South Gujarat, where Kharif crops were ready for harvesting.
According to government estimates, rains in October damaged the produce of 42 lakh hectares of agricultural land spread across 16,000 villages, dealing a significant blow to the state’s agricultural belt.
–IANS
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