CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday sought a compensation of Rs 20,000 per acre from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for paddy growers whose fields had been infested with dwarf disease.
In a statement here, former minister and Akali leader Daljit Singh Cheema said in many districts of Punjab, the dwarf disease had spread across 20 to 25 per cent of fields.
It was likely to result in a drop in paddy yield by at least 10 quintals per acre, he said adding, The government must step in and compensate farmers for the loss.
A state-wide survey should also be conducted to ascertain the amount of damage the deadly dwarf virus has done on the paddy crop, he said adding, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts were most affected by the dwarf disease.
Notably, a latest survey of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) had observed stunted plants in rice and basmati fields in the state due to the dwarf disease.
In some fields, due to the severe attack of the dwarf virus, some plants were dead and some were stunted with height remaining one-third from half in comparison to the normal plants, the PAU had said.
The PAU had found southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), a viral disease, behind the stunting of paddy plants in many parts of the state.
It is the first time that SRBSDV, which was first reported in 2001 from Southern China, had been detected in Punjab.
The SAD leader Cheema said at some places the dwarf disease had completely overtaken the paddy fields as in the case of Nurpurbedi in Rupnagar district where farmers had ploughed standing paddy fields.
Huge losses due to dwarf disease will be a catastrophe for farmers who are still coming to terms with a loss of wheat yields to a sudden increase in temperatures in March this year as well as subsequent losses sustained in sowing 'moong' crop which was not procured despite promises made by the chief minister, said Cheema.
Asserting that this could be the proverbial last straw for many farmers who were already under debt, Cheema asked the chief minister to intervene immediately and announce a comprehensive compensation package for the affected farmers.