JAMMU, Jul 24: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Kissan Congress Chairman Bharat Priye on Friday led a protest in the waterlogged paddy fields of the Pargwal border area along with affected farmers, strongly condemning what he termed the “callous attitude, poor planning and administrative negligence” of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, which he said resulted in extensive damage to standing paddy crops.
Addressing the protesting farmers, Bharat Priye said that despite repeatedly bringing the vulnerability of the area and the urgent need for strengthening flood protection works to the notice of the department before the onset of the monsoon, the authorities failed to take timely preventive measures.
He said that the recent rise in the water level of the Chenab River following monsoon rains exposed the department’s lack of preparedness, allowing river water to breach vulnerable points and inundate vast stretches of agricultural land in the Pargwal border belt. The flooding has damaged standing paddy crops spread across several hectares, causing heavy financial losses to farmers who had invested their hard-earned savings in cultivation.
“The tragedy is that this damage was entirely avoidable had the department acted responsibly and carried out necessary protection works in time. Farmers had repeatedly warned the authorities about the weak embankments and vulnerable locations, but their genuine concerns were ignored,” Bharat Priye said.
While standing in the affected fields with farmers during the protest, he said the farming community is already battling rising input costs, erratic weather conditions and declining profitability, and such administrative failures have further aggravated their distress. He said many farmers now fear losing their entire seasonal income because of the avoidable flooding.
The JKPCC Kissan Congress Chairman also expressed disappointment over what he described as the insensitive response of the administration after the incident.”It is unfortunate that even after such extensive crop damage, not a single officer from the district administration or the concerned department has visited the affected villages of Pargwal to assess the ground situation or reassure the distressed farmers,” he said.
Bharat Priye demanded that the district administration immediately constitute joint teams of the Revenue, Agriculture and allied departments to conduct a comprehensive survey of the damaged crops and submit an assessment report without delay.
He urged the government to announce adequate compensation for every affected farmer to help them recover from the losses and continue agricultural activities. He also called for immediate strengthening and repair of flood protection infrastructure along vulnerable stretches of the Chenab River and sought accountability against officials whose negligence, despite repeated warnings, resulted in avoidable losses to the farming community.
Reiterating the Congress party’s commitment to safeguarding the interests of farmers, Bharat Priye said JKPCC Kissan Congress would continue its struggle until every affected cultivator receives justice, adequate compensation and effective measures are taken to prevent such incidents in the future.