A farmer of Orai in Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun district has alleged that the state jail minister Jai Kumar Singh Jaiki’s cavalcade, comprising more than 35 vehicles, ran over his farm, ruining all the seeds he had sown a week back.
While the minister said that compensation of Rs 4,000 compensation was paid, the farmer Devendra Kumar Dohrey said it was little compared to the Rs 35,000 he had spent on his farm.
Singh was in Orai in Bundelkhand region for the ‘bhumi puja’ of a gaushala (cow shelter), situated close to Dohrey’s farm and being built by the Jalaun municipality.
In order to get to the site of the event, the minister’s cavalcade took the shorter route through Dohrey’s field and allegedly ran over the area where he had sown seeds.
Dohrey said he ran after the cavalcade till the venue but was stopped from entering the venue. Later, when the minister was about to leave, Dohrey threw himself before his vehicle.
Singh then came out of his vehicle and the farmer fell at his feet and bemoaned his loss. Singh patted Dohrey’s back and went back into his vehicle as someone from his team handed over two Rs 2,000 notes to the farmer. The motorcade then sped away, leaving Dohrey bewildered.
{{/usCountry}}Singh then came out of his vehicle and the farmer fell at his feet and bemoaned his loss. Singh patted Dohrey’s back and went back into his vehicle as someone from his team handed over two Rs 2,000 notes to the farmer. The motorcade then sped away, leaving Dohrey bewildered.
{{/usCountry}}Dohrey, like other farmers in the drought-affected Bundelkhand region, has struggled to make two ends meet because of scanty rainfall this season.
“I had planted mustard and wheat seeds last week, hoping the crops will help me tide over my problems. But now, the vehicles ran all over my field and destroyed the seeds,” Dohrey said, in tears.
The minister later said that the incident happened by mistake as there were no standing crops on the field.
“Damage was only in a small area,” he said, blaming the organisers of the function for planning the wrong route.
Singh also said that Jalaun MLA Gauri Shankar compensated the farmer with Rs 4,000 and the zila panchayat chief had been sent to check if more damages needed to be paid.
Dohrey, however, rued that he had spent nearly Rs 35,000 and “they gave me just Rs 4,000 for my loss”.
Jaiki also inaugurated 21 projects, completed at a cost of Rs 3 crore.