The study indicated that of the 130 acres of crop damaged in the storm, 60 acres was that of kinnow orchards, while the rest were that of wheat, cotton and other crops.A tornado recently tore through a 3-km area of Bukainwala village in the Fazilka district, damaging 70 houses in total and affecting nearly 130 acres of crop. According to the girdawari (crop inspection) report prepared by the Fazilka district officials, out of the 70 houses, around seven of them were damaged fully in the nearly 40-second natural disaster.
According to the report, 60 acres of the 130 acres of crop damaged by the storm were kinnow orchards, with the remaining 130 acres being made up of wheat, cotton, and other vegetables.
The report of the agriculture department says that out of 60 acres of kinnow orchards, nearly 32 acres was severely hit, that is, the plants were uprooted completely.
“If there are 100 plants in a field, not all have been damaged by the tornado, a few survived as well,” claimed a Fazilka district administration official while commenting on the condition of anonymity.
The persons whose houses were wrecked totally have been named as Raj Singh, Visakha Singh, Mahinder Singh and Joginder Singh. The work to reconstruct their houses has started, the report said.
Altogether eight individuals were hurt in the Friday catastrophe out of which three are still in hospital, while the others have been discharged, according to information disclosed by Fazilka district administration officials.
Two homes are being built with support from a Moga-based NGO, while the Punjab government is building the remaining homes with the help of a panchayat secretary. According to sarpanch Harjinder Kumar, one Varinder Singh Aulakh is voluntarily supplying water tankers to the building site.
Villagers were urged to register any concerns after all the lists of those whose homes had been destroyed were placed on the walls of the village panchayat office on Monday.The villagers whose houses were fully damaged are living in a makeshift tent erected inside the verandah of their houses while construction of their house is going on in full swing. The administration had arranged rooms in a government school for them to sleep, but these villagers had refused to leave their houses. The tents had also been arranged by the Fazilka district administration.
Earlier Ferozepur MP Sukhbir Singh Badal had agreed to provide Rs 5 lakh from his MPLAD money for the relief activities in the tornado-struck Bukainwala hamlet.
Though the Punjab government has announced Rs 15,000 per acre compensation where damage to the crops is between 75% and 100%, no exact amount for the damage of houses has been announced.
