Pak targets rice fields across border, crops worth Rs 125 crore in danger

Srinagar: 40,000 acres of basmati rice in Jammu and Kashmir is now under threat from Pakistan.

According to a report in DNA, firing and shelling from Pakistani soldiers have caused rice farmers to flee, ensuring that crop cultivation of basmati rice on the Indian side of the International Border (IB) is next to impossible.

In RS Pura, the ‘rice bowl’ of India, the sound of the tractor instantly invites the sounds of the gun from across the other side of the border.

Locals say that this firing from the Pakistani side with an intention to destroy rice crops is now an annual affair. It is meant to attack the Indian farmer, hurt India's basmati rice crop, and ensure that Pakistan's rice crop flowers. As a result, farmers working on the fields have been made to vacate the area. The paddy now stands neglected.

"If there is no one to harvest, the crop will die in 10-12 days," a local farmer was quoted as saying.

Most area in and around the RS Pura region is extremely fertile and best suited for basmati cultivation, but shelling and firing has destroyed the crop for the last 3 years.

If the crop remains uncultivated this year, India would lose approximately Rs 125 crore.

Ashok Malhotra, Director of Agriculture, Jammu and Kashmir, feels that the government must counter the Pakistani aggression by taking urgent steps to protect the rice farmer, but says the appeals have so far gone unanswered.

Moreover, the Border Security Force (BSF) presence in the area does not allow farmers to use machines on their fields. Manual harvest will take a much longer duration, as at least 20 per cent of the crop will get destroyed, said the report.

Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, J&K Agriculture Minister, confirmed that there will be loss of crops this year, added the report.