Bhopal, April 6 (IANS) Taking note of widespread crop damage caused by recent unseasonal weather, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Madhya Pradesh Umang Singhar on Monday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, demanding immediate relief measures for farmers across the state.​

In his letter, Singhar highlighted that untimely rains, thunderstorms, and hailstorms have severely impacted standing and harvested crops in several districts, including Bhind, Morena, Gwalior, Datia, Shivpuri, Barwani, Betul, and Raisen.​

Moderate rain accompanied by high‑speed winds was also observed in the districts of the Vindhya region of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday and Sunday.​

The Congress leader noted that crops such as wheat, mustard, and gram have reportedly suffered extensive losses, raising serious concerns about farmers’ livelihoods.​

He also pointed out that delays in procuring wheat at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) left harvested wheat lying in fields and threshing yards for long periods.​

“This exposure made the crops particularly vulnerable to sudden weather changes, aggravating the scale of damage and financial losses faced by farmers,” Singhar wrote in his letter.​

The process of wheat procurement at MSP will start from April 10, according to the government’s earlier statement.​

He has urged the state government to take swift, concrete steps, including a time‑bound, transparent survey of affected areas conducted by the Revenue and Agriculture Departments.​

Singhar demanded immediate compensation for farmers based on the actual assessment of losses.​

Additionally, he called for relaxation of quality norms for rain‑affected produce, so that farmers can still sell their crops under the procurement system without being rejected.​

Meanwhile, weather conditions across Madhya Pradesh on Monday remained unstable, with several regions witnessing cloudy skies, intermittent rainfall, and gusty winds.​

According to the Meteorological Department’s inputs, parts of northern and central Madhya Pradesh continued to experience light to moderate showers, while isolated areas reported hailstorms and thunderstorms.​

Weather scientists at the regional India Meteorological Department (IMD) office in Bhopal said that the changing weather pattern has been attributed to active western disturbances and local atmospheric instability.​

The prevailing conditions have raised further concerns among farmers, as standing crops and harvested produce remain at risk, with forecasts indicating continued weather fluctuations over the next couple of days.​

–IANS

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