Wind & hailstorm damage: Tobacco growers seek financial help from KP govt

MANSEHRA: The district administration on Thursday assured the tobacco growers of compensation for their crops destroyed during the recent winds and hailstorms in the district.

“We have been estimating the financial losses that occurred during the recent hails and windstorm and will share this survey report with the provincial government to compensate peasants whose standing crops were damaged,” Assistant Commissioner, Baffa-Pakhal, Novaria Farooq told farmers during her visits to the affected areas.

She said she had been visiting the areas where the standing tobacco and other cash crops were destroyed during the recent natural calamity.“We know the tobacco growers are dependent on income earned through their yields. That is why the district administration has decided to carry out the survey of damaged crops and share a comprehensive report with the provincial government for financial help,” Farooq said. The AC said she led a team of the Revenue Department and other officials during the ongoing survey in parts of the district and personally witnessed the damages.

“The growers here have been producing the best quality tobacco in Pakhal and other parts of the district and the government would not leave them alone in their critical time,” Novaria said.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Anjuman-i-Kashtkaran Hazara led by its divisional president Rustam Khan met the assistant commissioner and apprised her of the damage triggered by the recent wind and hailstorm.

“The agriculture sector is the backbone of the country’s economy and contributes a major chunk in its gross domestic product (GDP) and the government should compensate peasants for their agro-related losses,” Rustam said.