Lack of
power supply and internet service, and unfamiliarity with the online system
give a hard time to farmers<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Kaithal, Haryana: Hoping for a good harvest, Ramesh Kumar (45) of Bhatia village in
Haryana sowed wheat and paddy&nbsp;on 10 acres
of land by spending close to Rs 1 lakh. However, floods in River Ghaggar ruined
the crops two months ago, leaving him in debt and without any alternative
source of income"I lost my house and all other possessions to the flood. I am worried
about my children's future, their education. I have no other income to take
care of my family. Everything is gone,” he bemoans.Kumar is among the hundreds of farmers who have suffered losses in the
floods that washed away over four lakh acres of agricultural lands and
destroyed close to 500 houses in 12 districts of the state, affecting over
1,500 villages.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>“Yamunanagar, Karnal, Palwal, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Sonipat and Sirsa are
among the affected districts, leaving farmers to grapple with losses exceeding Rs 55 crore,” said Puran Dahiya, a local farmer engaged in relief work with NGO Jansamvedna.&nbsp;Residents in Kaithal district, around 200 km from Delhi, were affected
by the flooding of Hansi-Butana canal. “The floods in this particular region
were preventable but for the administration’s negligence,” said <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">Vishpal Singh, a farmer from Sherpur village in&nbsp;<span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">Purab block.&nbsp;“Initially, the water levels were at 18 ft. It touched an alarming 28 ft on
July 18. Had the canal been properly maintained, the villages on this side
could have been saved," he said.The farmers have been demanding a compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre for agricultural
lands. However, the government has announced only Rs 15,000 per acre for full
crop damage. The farmers have been seeking compensation for livestock loss, damaged
borewells, Rs 10 lakh per family for the bereaved, one-year waiver of all debts and interests and minimum support price for their produce.&nbsp;<span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">However, none of these demands has
been accepted so far.&nbsp;<div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1726143/story_photos_(default)_(37).jpg" id="1814795" style="width: 100%;">Submerged farms on either side of the water-filled main road connecting Kaithal to other districts (Photo - Akansha Deshmukh, 101Reporters)</div><div style="text-align: center; line-height: 1;"> </div>Hiccups all the way<o:p></o:p>Launching an extended version of the e-KshatiPurti portal through the Meri Fasal Mera Byora website on
August 2, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced compensations of
up to Rs 50 lakh for loss of movable property and Rs 25 lakh for immovable
property. T<o:p></o:p>he money would be received in the bank accounts of farmers.&nbsp;However, the <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">complicated process of
applying for compensation and lack of easy access to the internet have been causing
problems.&nbsp;The farmers had to register their details on the compensation portal or the Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal and submit&nbsp;proof of crop damage, including photographs, videos or revenue records, which many of the farmers were not adept at providing.They are still awaiting the verification and approval of their applications by the concerned authorities, which may take a long time or be subject to corruption or negligence.&nbsp;They also face the possibility of receiving less than the promised amount or not receiving it at all due to various reasons, including lack of funds, bureaucratic hurdles or political interference.As per the latest data from the government, <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">47 farmers from&nbsp;across the state&nbsp;<span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">have uploaded necessary information&nbsp;and 40 of them have received the compensation. When contacted, neither the bank staff nor the concerned government authorities were ready to speak on the issues related to delays in providing compensation and complications in applying for the same."The portal is very slow and it crashes quite often. I had to
upload many documents and proofs related to my land and crop damage. It took me
several days to complete the application process. I have not received any
confirmation or status update from the authorities yet. I do not know when I
will get the money," said <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">Rajesh Kumar (38) from Khambeda, who lost paddy, maize and
vegetables cultivated on his six acres to the flooding.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ramesh also had a similar experience. "I have not heard back from
the authorities. I do not even know if I will get the compensation. But&nbsp;I will fight for what is mine, even if it means giving up my life," Ramesh said.&nbsp;A local internet cafe owner at Cheeka in Kaithal district told 101Reporters
on condition of anonymity that the farmers from several villages without
electricity and internet access had frequented his cafe every day to
fill up online forms for compensation. "I know they are in a dire situation and it pains me to charge them
Rs 50 per hour, but I too have to earn my living," he said, adding that he
helped around 1,000 farmers to apply for compensation in a single month.&nbsp;&nbsp;"The farmers told me that even in this situation the government
officials are seeking bribes from them to expedite their claims," the cafe
owner said.<div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1726143/story_photos_(default)_(38).jpg" id="1814803" style="width: 100%;">Municipality workers fogging Bhatia village, Haryana, to combat fever and dengue spread (Photo - Akansha Deshmukh, 101Reporters)</div> Waterborne diseases pose risk<o:p></o:p>The floodwater did not recede for several days, with the
Ghaggar staying above <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">the danger
mark of 24 ft. However, after some time, the situation became better.&nbsp;However, as <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">a 500-km
road stretch&nbsp;was washed away, access to markets and basic services
have been affected. The process of rebuilding it is going on at present.In July, the district administration
established 341 camps and provided water tankers to ensure clean drinking water
to the locals. The medical team did health check-ups of over 6,000 individuals
and distributed over 1,000 relief packages. However, such measures have been
falling short as the number of affected people have increased since then.&nbsp;A woman from Bhatia village told 101Reporters on condition
of anonymity that her family have been living in a makeshift tent on a
slightly elevated part of their land from the day floods submerged their house.&nbsp;"We have to walk for miles to get drinking water from a nearby
village. The water in our taps is dirty and smells bad. We have no electricity,
work and food. We have not received relief packages. The authorities have also
failed to send water tankers," she said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Locals have been falling sick as stagnant water breeds mosquitoes and gives rise to water-borne
and vector-borne diseases.&nbsp;"For the last two days, my neighbour's son is suffering from high fever and vomiting. He might have cholera. We are scared to even go to the hospital because
we do not know if they will treat us properly," said a resident of
Khambeda village, on condition of anonymity.&nbsp;Officials at the local health centres said many people were falling
sick with diarrhoea, fever, and skin and eye infections, but they could not
give exact figures.&nbsp;According to <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">a <a href="newsreporthttps://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/haryana-dengue-cases-on-rise-health-minister-anil-vij-8906628/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">newsreport</a><span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">, Haryana recorded 772 dengue, 43
chikungunya and 35 malaria cases till August 23, with most of the cases coming
from Rohtak, Yamunanagar, Rewari and Gurugram.&nbsp;The health department is coordinating with the local administration to
fog the areas to kill mosquitoes, and are organising medical camps and
distributing medicines and chlorine tablets to prevent the spread of diseases.





































































































 Edited by Shuchita JhaCover Photo -&nbsp;Water-filled Kaithal main roads due to blockage and debris (Photo - Akansha Deshmukh, 101Reporters)