Sidhu pays Rs 24 lakh from his pocket to Amritsar farmers who lost harvested crop to fire
Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu announced to give Rs. 24 lakh as compensation, from his own pocket, to farmers whose crop was gutted in fire that broke in village of Rajasansi area of Amritsar district late on Friday night. The minister also assured the farmers of all support.
Assuring all support to farmers whose crop was gutted in Rajasansi late on Friday night, local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday announced Rs 24-lakh compensation to them out of his own pocket.
The minister, who reached Othian, one of the affected villages, said as the fire broke out in the fields due to short circuit, the power corporation will be paying Rs 8,000 per acre to the affected farmers, taking the total relief to Rs 24 lakh as around 300-acre crop was gutted.
“I understand this is not enough, and this is the reason I have come here today. To further compensate the farmers as I feel their pain, I will give the same amount out of my own pocket,” said the minister, adding that it was his duty to held the people of Rajasansi segment who had always supported him.
Also Read | 300 acres of harvested wheat crop gutted in Amritsar district
“I do television. I earn money. So there is no harm in compensating the farmers,” he said.
Sidhu, who visited the charred fields, said he would urge chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to increase the compensation for crop loss. He also asked Amritsar deputy commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha to take up the matter with electricity department and ensure that high-tension wires hanging over fields are removed or rectified.
In the past, too, Sidhu had given Rs 1 crore for the ‘Go Green, Go Clean’ campaign in Amritsar. He was the Amritsar MP at that time.