Sameer Singh Bathinda, July 21 As incessant rain inundated the fields for days and damaged the cotton crop in Burj Mehma village, a farmer from the village has uprooted the damaged cotton crop and has sown basmati on his fields. Up until Monday, 32-year-old Kuldeep Singh, a marginal farmer, who cultivated cotton on two acres of agricultural land owned by him, had anticipated a rich harvest and lucrative returns on his produce. But little did he know that incessant rain would submerge his fields and damage the crop. Life had been unfair to Singh, whose father burdened under a debt of Rs12 lakh, had committed suicide by consuming a pesticide spray last yeart. This year, his entire cotton crop has been destroyed by the rain. Talking to Bathinda Tribune, Kuldeep said, “There wasn’t much left after the rain. So, I decided to uproot the damaged cotton crop and sow basmati as climatic conditions are conducive for it now. My fields are situated in a low-lying area and after the rain, water from other villages got accumulated and submerged my crop.” He said, “I have suffered a loss of more than Rs44,000 due to the rain. The government must provide adequate compensation for the crop loss. It did not even waive-off the farm loan taken by me. Life will never be easy for a marginal farmer like me as government is barely concerned about losses suffered and battles fought by us every year.” Notably, after the recent heavy rain, hundreds of acres of agricultural land in the region had submerged in water, causing severe damage to the cotton and the paddy sown by farmers in June this year. Though farmers in some villages managed to drain out the rainwater from their fields, many of the villages are still inundated.

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