JK govt assesses Rs 500 cr loss to crops due to heavy snowfall
Jammu, Nov 6: The Jammu and Kashmir government Tuesday assessed Rs 500 crore losses to the state's agriculture and horticulture sectors due to the recent heavy snowfall and urged the Centre to provide relief to the affected farmers.
Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam urged the central government to depute a team to the state to assess the damages caused by heavy snowfall, an official spokesman said.
In a communication addressed to Union Secretary, Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Subrahmanyam said the extent of damage was so huge that the state government needed assistance from the Centre.
"As per the preliminary assessment done by the state government's field agencies, nearly 53,000 hectares of horticulture and 9,000 hectares of agriculture crops have been severely damaged and the tentative losses are estimated at over Rs 500 crore," the chief secretary said.
He said under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)guidelines, a meagre amount of relief is admissible on account of damages and losses to crops which is "not sufficient to compensate the affected farmers".
The official said unprecedented snowfall on November 3 and 4 had caused colossal damage to apple crops.
"In this backdrop, I would request you to kindly depute a team to the state to assess the damage and losses incurred by the farming community so that they can be adequately compensated," read the communication.
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Bengaluru: Four arrested for housebreaking, threats, extortion; fake PSI among accused
Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.
Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.
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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.
On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.
Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
