Ram Vilas Paswan assures help to farmers from centre over crop damage

Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday said that the centre would provide support to farmers, after assessing the scale of crop damage in the northern parts of the country, due to untimely rainfall.

"We met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday and he told us to have a look at the whole situation. We are going to Chandigarh now. The Haryana chief minister will also be there. After that we will inform the Prime Minister and the government will extend all help to the farmers affected by unseasonal rains," said Paswan. Farmers have suffered from huge losses this month when unprecedented rains and hailstorm damaged standing rabi crops in several states.

Over a dozen debt-laden farmers have committed suicide in recent weeks, and discontent in many rural areas against government policies is turning into anger against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Unseasonal storms have badly damaged the winter crop in large parts of the fertile northern plains, most likely contributing to the suicides, and villagers have blamed Modi for not stepping in to help the distressed farmers or ensuring that crop prices remained stable.