SWABI: Farmers’ rights bodies have demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to declare the Swabi district as calamity-hit because hailstones lashed the region four times in recent days, destroying maize and sugarcane crops.

Speaking at separate meetings here on Sunday, leaders of Kisan Board (KB) and Kashtkar Coordination Council (KCC) decried the local parliamentarians for leaving the affected farmers in the lurch. They said that no elected representative visited the poor farmers to express sympathies with them.

The participants said that during their visit to Gadoon belt they witnessed extensive damage caused to crops and trees due to hailstones.

On the occasion, Khalid Khan, district president of KB, said that maize and sugarcane crops were hit by hailstones at peak stage, causing serious loss to farmers. “As maize flour is widely used by people for making bread the damage to the crop might increase price of the wheat flour in the local markets,” he added.

Liaqat Yousufzai, general secretary of KCC, said that the farmers were already in deep financial crunch and the destruction of maize crop further distressed them.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2014