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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Congress holds ‘Jai Hind Tiranga Yatra’ in Bengaluru in support of armed forces
Bengaluru (PTI): A large crowd gathered at KR Circle in Bengaluru on Friday as the ruling Congress in Karnataka organised the ‘Jai Hind Tiranga Yatra’ to express solidarity with the Indian armed forces that carried out Operation Sindoor to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Indian tricolour fluttered at the venue amid loud chants of ‘Jai Hind-Jai Bharat-Jai Tiranga’, ‘Bharat Zindabad’ (Long Live India), ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ (Victory to India), and ‘Our soldiers are our pride’.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar, and several senior ministers participated in the march, which began at KR Circle and concluded at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Shivakumar said the event was organised to express solidarity with the soldiers guarding India’s borders.
The Congress state president appealed to the public to join the march wholeheartedly as a mark of respect for the defence forces.
Speaking to reporters later, Shivakumar said the Congress organised the ‘Jai Hind Tiranga Yatra’, and people from all walks of life—including students, government employees, and members of various organisations and institutions—were invited to take part.
"Soldiers are our national pride. We want to salute them. We stand in solidarity with them to convey that the entire country is behind them," he said, expressing happiness over the huge turnout despite the short notice.
