Remember the famous advertisement from Parle-G wherein the son of the farmer (hailing from Punjab) leaves for Canada due to constant losses and uncertainty in the agriculture sector. This year, the advertisement seems to be true as reality is far worse for the farmers who lost almost everything just months back.
As bonfires flickered on the occasion of Lohri on January 13, celebrations among farmers across Punjab and Haryana felt different. For countless farmers, the devastating monsoon floods of 2025 have ravaged their fields just months ago. So, this year they had nothing to harvest, rather losses and interest dues from the loans they had taken to make their yield productive. Additionally, stringent stubble-burning penalties have threatened their livelihoods.
For the unversed, over 148000 hectares of agricultural land, particularly ready-to-harvest paddy crops, have disappeared beneath the floodwaters for weeks. These floods claimed 51 lives, 1000 large livestock, and left 35000 poultry perished. Thus, for farmers who are still grieving for their losses, Lohri isn’t about happiness but a lament about what they all had lost and what repairs their land and homes need.
The government came to the rescue with a compensation of Rs. 20000 per acre and Rs. 2 lakhs for the victims’ families. Let’s compare it to the losses they have incurred and the cost they are bearing to regain the land’s fertility. According to the projections given by a farmer from Hardowal village, the cost incurred to accelerate land drying and repairs is Rs. 20000 per acre for initial cultivation and an additional Rs. 6000 per acre for specialised equipment. Therefore, an average farmer whose land was submerged under water needs at least Rs. 26000 per acre of land against the compensation offered of Rs. 20000 per acre.
If this weren’t less, the Supreme Court and environmentalists have forced the government to escalate penalties on stubble burning. Farmers face fines of Rs. 5000 to Rs. 30000 depending upon the area of their farmland. For those who are reeling under monsoon losses, these penalties are acting as financial ruin.
Certainly, the warmth of Lohri or Makar Sakranti cannot dispel the chill of uncertainties that farmers in Punjab and Haryana are dealing with. The farmers who feed the nation are fighting with nature’s fury and policy’s rigidity with “Chardikala”.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates
Click Here for Chhattisgarh News
Click Here for Entertainment News