Bhatinda (Punjab), Feb 15 : Cold wave conditions in Punjab have damaged most of the potato crop causing huge losses to farmers.

Potato producers of Bhatinda say that they have lost at least 70 per cent of their crop yield to severe cold and frost formation.

"With temperatures going down to minus two to three degrees in Punjab this year and due to the fog especially in our district, we are facing huge losses. The crops that we sowed in November are destroyed upto nearly 70 per cent," said Harcharan Singh, a farmer.

Farmers who find themselves at the mercy of the weather are demanding that authorities compensate them for their losses.

"We want the Central Government and the Punjab Government to pay us the compensation that we deserve. The loss is nearly 15,000 rupees to 20,000 rupees per acre," said Harbas Singh, another farmer.

Horticulture officials who estimate the loss to about 60 per cent said that if the weather continues to remain as it is, the farmers would incur greater losses.

"The seeds that were sown in late November have not started budding and because the temperatures have gone down the potato crop has been spoiled.

The loss is approximately 50 to 60 per cent and if the situation continues to be the same the farmers may face even higher losses," Narinderjit Singh, District Horticulture Office, Bhatinda.

ANI