What New De-watering Facility in Amritsar Means for Farmers?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- De-watering facility inaugurated in Jattan village, Amritsar.
- Designed to remove floodwater from over 150 acres of agricultural land.
- Supported by a network of four km of pipelines.
- Initiative by Vikramjit Singh Sahney's NGO, Sun Foundation.
- Rehabilitation kits distributed to affected families.
Amritsar, Oct 18 (NationPress) The Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Vikramjit Singh Sahney inaugurated a de-watering facility in Jattan village, located in the Ramdas block of Amritsar, on Saturday. This initiative is designed to eliminate floodwater from more than 150 acres of farmland that was submerged during the recent floods.
The newly implemented system is supported by an extensive network of almost four kilometers of pipelines, which will effectively channel excess water away from the agricultural lands, allowing farmers to return to farming and safeguard soil fertility.
This project is a collaboration with Vikramjit Singh Sahney’s NGO, the Sun Foundation, and is anticipated to provide significant relief to numerous families whose livelihoods were hindered by prolonged flooding.
As part of this initiative, Sahney also distributed rehabilitation kits to the affected families in the village, which included beds, mattresses, kitchen sets, furniture, rations, fogging machines, and more. He emphasized that the de-watering project is a crucial step toward restoring normalcy for farmers.
“No farmer should face hardship due to natural disasters, and timely intervention is vital to protect agricultural livelihoods,” he remarked.
Sahney reiterated his commitment to implementing similar relief efforts in other flood-affected regions of Punjab.
The local residents and farmers expressed their gratitude to Sahney for his swift assistance. This week, the Punjab Cabinet, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, approved an increase in compensation for crop losses to farmers, raising it to Rs 20,000 per acre.
A spokesperson from the Chief Minister’s Office stated that to ensure adequate assistance to those impacted by crop losses and property damage from natural disasters, the Cabinet also authorized the revision of relief amounts to be funded from the State Budget.
Given the extensive flooding in the state, the relief amount has been raised to Rs 10,000 per acre for crop losses ranging from 26-75%, Rs 20,000 per acre for losses of 76-100%, and Rs 40,000 per unit for partially damaged homes, an increase from the previous Rs 6,500.
Although the amount provided from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) by the Indian government will remain unchanged, this additional compensation will be funded by the state’s treasury.