Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced a crop loss assessment following recent inclement weather and promised compensation to affected farmers. The announcement came as Mann presented a report on the power department and addressed other issues including sacrilege laws and drug enforcement.
Unseasonal rainfall could damage standing wheat crops, especially late-sown fields nearing maturity and grain-filling stages.
A forest official in Karnataka is under investigation after a video surfaced allegedly showing him demanding a bribe from a farmer who suffered crop damage due to a wild elephant attack.
Farmers in some villages of Maharashtra's Akola district claimed to have received as little as Rs 3 and Rs 21 as compensation under a central insurance scheme for the crop losses they suffered due to heavy rains, and called the aid as 'insulting' and 'mockery' of their plight.
The Congress Legislature Party leader in Maharashtra raises concerns about law and order due to missing girls and the impact of unseasonal rains on farmers, criticising the government's response.
Trump may strike. He may announce productive talks and extend again. He may do both at the same time. Iran will not open the Strait on someone else's terms, so no matter what happens, that problem will remain unsolved. And the IRGC will still be collecting its $2 million toll from every ship bold enough to ask permission to pass.
The recent flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain in north Bengal have caused massive destruction in at least 30-35 tea gardens in Darjeeling, with reports of loss of plantation areas, deaths of workers and damage to houses of labourers, prompting planters to convene a meeting to assess the situation, stakeholders said.
The state government has directed a joint assessment of crop loss due to the cyclone by officials of the agriculture and revenue departments, he said.
Heavy rains exacerbate the flood situation in Punjab, leading to 37 deaths and widespread crop damage. Rescue and relief operations are underway as authorities issue alerts and provide assistance to affected populations.
'Marathwada is the suicide capital of Maharashtra.' 'To stop such man-made disasters, the government should immediately come up with a rightful package, not this charitable approach to compensation.'
The family of the farmer from Rajasthan, who on Wednesday committed suicide at a public rally in the national capital, claimed that he took the extreme step due to "unexpected loss" of his crops.
Wheat production during the current season is expected to be better than last year provided the weather remains favourable over the next few weeks, said senior industry executives. The weather had turned uncharacteristically hot in the latter half of last month, but owing to strong winds, the chill has returned in the last few days.
IMD data shows in the 24 hours between September 1 and 2, Haryana received 806 per cent more rainfall than normal, Punjab 759 per cent, Himachal Pradesh 510 per cent, Delhi 740 per cent, Chandigarh a staggering 1,638 per cent, and Rajasthan 193 per cent.
Heavy rains in Maharashtra have caused floods, road blockages, and widespread damage, resulting in casualties and displacement. The state government is monitoring the situation and coordinating rescue efforts.
Even as the Uttar Pradesh government has flatly denied suicides by farmers in any part of the state, state chief secretary Alok Ranjan on Tuesday admitted that the untimely rain, thunder and hailstorm in large parts of the state had caused tremendous loss to the standing wheat crop to the tune of over Rs 1,100 crores.
'Our politics is transparent -- it's about ensuring farmers don't die by suicide, about ensuring agriculture remains viable, about ensuring food security for the nation.' 'If that's politics, then yes, we do politics.'
A new study by IIT-Kharagpur warns that ozone pollution could significantly reduce agricultural yields in India, particularly impacting wheat, rice, and maize production. The study, published in the journal 'Environmental Research', highlights the vulnerability of major food crops to rising surface ozone levels, especially in the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Central India. The researchers call for effective emission reduction strategies to mitigate these risks and ensure global food security.
ISRO has projected wheat production of 122.24 million tonnes.
The tea sector may see a crop loss of 50 per cent (around Rs150 crore) while the damages owing to landslides washing away a 100-acre plantation in Wayanad are yet to be accounted for.
The worst-hit districts include Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhadrak, while the human casualty 'still stands at zero,' he told reporters in Bhubaneswar.
Monsoon hit the state on June 20 and has since then cost it Rs 5,000 crore in damages.
However, the estimates could change in the coming months, as full impact of excess rainfall and floods on the standing soybean and urad crops in central and western India in late August and September has not yet been fully taken into account.
There has not been a large impact of untimely rain and hailstorm so far in several major wheat-growing areas, and those might have damaged around 3 per cent of the standing crop -- not enough to make a big dent in the expected 112 million tonnes of production in FY24, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Relentless rain pounded most North Indian states all through March. Separately, the chairman of Food Corporation of India (FCI), Ashok K Meena, told reporters the agency was on track to achieve the targeted 34 million tonnes of procurement in FY24 on the back of a strong start to the purchase season from Madhya Pradesh.
Karnataka suffered a crop loss in around 97,365 hectares out of the total bearing area of 2,26,244 hectares of coffee and spices plantations.
The government has made its flagship crop insurance schemes voluntary for farmers with existing crop loans or those willing to take new ones, as it seeks to address the concerns raised by farmers' body and states in implementation of these programmes. "The Union Cabinet has approved the revamping of 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)' and 'Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS)' to address the existing challenges in implementation of crop insurance schemes," an official statement said.
Amid the Bharatiya Janata Party's criticism over the duration of his visit to cyclone-hit Konkan region of Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said that he was at least taking stock of the situation on the ground and not conducting an aerial survey in a helicopter.
"The new structure will substantially reduce taxes on the middle class and leave more money in their hands, boosting household consumption, savings and investment," Sitharaman said presenting what was dubbed as 'reformist' budget for the next fiscal in Lok Sabha.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that one person died in the state in cyclone Dana, even as the administration evacuated around 2.16 lakh people from the low-lying areas.
Santosh Patkar of Devgadh Taluka Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra is a worried man these days. Devgadh, which is known as the home to world famous Alphonso variety of mangoes, has seen an unusual drop in yields which is affecting farmers' income. Being one of the primary agricultural produce from the area, Santosh is not untouched by this somewhat rare phenomenon. He said in his own mango garden, yields have come down by a third from most trees.
The landfall process of the severe cyclonic storm Dana was complete on Friday morning and the system took at least eight and half hours to enter the landmass, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Kerala floods take a toll on small businesses, NBFCs brace for losses
'There is more expansion in the industry happening in retail lines, so we will continue to focus on those lines.'
The rains were being caused due to a cyclonic circulation lying over north east Arabian sea and adjoining Saurashtra and Kutch regions, the IMD said in its bulletin.
Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa said the "unprecedented" northeast monsoon killed 470 people and nearly a lakh livestock besides damaging crops in over 3.83 lakh hectares.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said 52 deaths have been reported so far due to pre-monsoon rains in the state, along with damage to properties, and directed officials concerned to provide immediate relief.
Apart from the human body, human food will bear direct repercussions. From staples such as wheat, to coffee, dairy, and even the great Hilsa face the threat of reduced supply due to the extreme heat.
The Central government is certain that the country will meet the wheat production target for 2008-09., inspite of the hailstorms that destroyed standing crops. According to data provided by officials, wheat crops in around 100,000 hectares of land have been damaged in Haryana itself after the recent hailstorms. The exact loss was being assessed and a special revenue assessment will be ordered later. But govt said wheat production estimate remains unchanged at 74.81 mn tonnes.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the damages in the state due the worst floods in more than a century would run into "many thousands of crores" but he would approach the Centre only after the final assessment is complete.
'Due to severe rains and heavy cross winds, arrivals at #AAI Chennai Airport will remain suspended from 1315 hrs to 1800 hrs, today. Departures will continue. The decision has been taken considering the safety aspect of passengers and severity of wind,' the Chennai Airport tweeted.
Tracing the remaining persons was proving a daunting task as the river remained in spate with over two lakh cusecs of floodwater gushing, sources said.
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