Cotton crop worth Rs 1000 crore has been completely damaged due to water-logging in Punjab.
Punjab's agriculture director Avtar Singh Randhawa told Business Standard on Friday "The cotton crop in more than 50,000 acres of land in four districts of Punjab-Muktsar, Faridkot, Ferozpur and Bathinda has been totally damaged. Muktsar district is the worst affected."
Punjab is one of the leading cotton producing states in the country. Last year, it had produced 19.25 lakh bales of cotton, about 15 per cent of the total cotton production in the country.
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This year, according to the State agriculture director, the state will be able to produce a maximum 17.75 lakh bales of cotton.
While the cotton crop on 50,000 hectares, mainly in Muktsar, has been totally damaged due to water-logging, caused by floods in the canals surrounding the cotton belt of Punjab, the area under cotton cultivation in the state has also been reduced by nearly 50,000 hectares this year.
Speaking about the over-all cotton scenario in the Punjab, the agriculture director said; "Of course, we have been badly hit by water-logging in the cotton-belt this year. Otherwise, Punjab was all set for a record production of cotton this year. In the areas not affected, the cotton crop is good. Fortunately, the crop has not been hit by boll worms this year because of the extensive pest control programme carried out by the agriculture department."
The harvesting of cotton in Punjab is expected to start by the end of the month. Meanwhile, the Punjab government has chalked out a Rs 200 crore plan for dealing with the perennial problem of water-logging in the cotton belt on a war-footing.
The state government will carry out digging out of both surface and deep drains to flush out water. It also plans to dig 500 tube-wells for the same purpose in the areas affected by water-logging.
A team from the Centre is expected to visit the worst affected areas in the cotton belt of the border state soon to assess the loss to the farmers.