CHARSADDA: Rejecting the government’s relief package of Rs10,000 per acre, the flood-affected farmers have demanded increase in the compensation amount and provision of free agriculture products.

Talking to media persons, the farmers said that Rs10,000 relief per acre is a meagre amount because the growers had suffered heavy losses due to flash floods on August 26. They said their standing crops of sugarcane, maize, vegetables, etc on thousands of acres of land hand been swept away and damaged by floodwater. They said the floods had made their lands barren and now they were unable to feed their families.

In this regard, ADC relief Usman Jilani told Dawn that according to the survey, in Charsadda about 218,000 kanals of land had been affected by the flood. The crops particularly sugarcane had been severely affected and so far 180 affected growers had submitted their applications and the government would start paying the amount after completion of legal formalities, he said.

The farmers also demanded supply of agricultural products to make their lands re-cultivable. The localities situated around the Khayali River of Charsadda are the worst affected. They said water channels had also been destroyed and the irrigation department had not yet started any work in this regard.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2022