Cyclone Arnav Havoc: Paddy Crops Destroyed in Barabanki, Farmers Plead for Help
Farmers in Barabanki's Ramnagar tehsil face ruin as Cyclone Arnav rains destroy paddy crops. Read about their struggle for compensation.
The agricultural heartland of Barabanki is reeling under the aftermath of Cyclone Arnav, as relentless rains have devastated paddy crops across the Terai region of Ramnagar tehsil. What began as a four-day spell of rain escalated into a catastrophe between October 28 and October 31, leaving farmers staring at the total destruction of their livelihoods.
Fields Turned into Lakes, Crops Rotting
The heavy downpours have transformed fertile fields into waterlogged marshes. The paddy crops, which were already struggling due to earlier weather disruptions, have been completely flattened. In many areas, the ears of grain have begun to rot in the standing water, making the harvest impossible.
The human cost of this natural disaster is stark. Shyam Mohan, a farmer from Lohti Jai village, shared a heartbreaking account of his struggle. To fund the cultivation of his 20 bighas of land, he was forced to pawn his wife’s earrings for 40,000 rupees. With his crops now submerged and ruined, he faces the grim reality of being unable to repay the debt.
The devastation is widespread across the tehsil. Farmer Ramdayal Mishra reported that 10 bighas of his crop are rotting in the field, while another farmer, Jhengai Rawat, lamented that despite cultivating 10 bighas, he has been unable to harvest a single grain of paddy.
Administrative Hurdles and Compensation Woes
While the farmers battle nature, they are now fighting a bureaucratic war. There are serious allegations that the tehsil administration has failed to conduct a realistic or fair survey of the damages. Adding to the frustration, farmers claim that officials have informed them that the online portal for compensation applications is already closed.
Desperate for assistance, many farmers have bypassed the digital system, manually submitting their khatoni (land records), Aadhar cards, and bank passbooks directly to the tehsil office. There is a growing fear among the community that these administrative delays and technical hurdles will prevent them from receiving the financial aid they desperately need to survive.
Demands for Justice
A collective group of affected farmers, including Ramashankar Trivedi, Anand Shukla, Sarjudei, Ramprakash, Anand, Awadhesh Awasthi, Shyam Mohan Trivedi, Subhash Trivedi, Suresh Shukla, Kuldeep Gupta, and Dev Kumar, have come forward with a set of urgent demands:
- A fair and transparent assessment of the crop damage.
- A significant increase in the compensation amount to cover actual losses.
- The immediate reopening of the online portal for compensation claims.
Responding to the crisis, Tehsildar Vipul Singh has provided assurances to the distressed farmers, stating that an investigation into the losses will be conducted.