There have been reports of a bumper crop in the region but a large number of farmers were hit hard by the recent unseasonal rain. In some areas, the wheat crop was totally washed away. The Tribune correspondents check out the field situation in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh Punjab There are many questions bothering farmers. How will they pay off their existing loans? Will they get a loan to sow paddy? It is said that efforts bear fruit. But some farmers in Punjab have reasons to doubt this saying. Their six-month wait for the harvest was about to end when rain caused havoc to the wheat crop. In villages like Talwan, Burj Hassan, Powadra, Omarpur in Noormahal; Sidhwan Bet in Jagraon; Pir Mohammed and Lehra Bet in Ferozepore; and Lakha, Jhordan and Pherurain Achcharwal in Raikot as much as 50 per cent to 75 per cent of the crop has been damaged. In some cases, the loss has been even 100 per cent. Along with the flattened crop, the hopes of farmers, too, have been dashed to the ground. There are still many questions bothering them. How will they pay off their existing loans? Will they be able to get financial help to recover from the crisis? Will they get a loan to sow paddy? "It was a nightmare the rain and the hailstorm destroyed our crop totally," laments Kamaljit Singh, a farmer from Talwan village. Kamaljit Singh suffered 100 per cent crop damage. Finding it difficult to find words to narrate his grief, he says: "The crop was really good this time, a bumper crop was expected and I had hoped for a better future." Kamaljit had recently got his two daughters married by availing himself of a loan. The cold and clear days in December had raised hopes that he would be able to use the "handsome returns" for implementing better farming techniques in the coming paddy season. He had also hoped to pay off the loan he took for the marriage of his daughters. Shattered, he says: "I do not even know where the money to clear the farm and prepare the land for paddy will come from. This year is going to be really bad. It will even be difficult to recover the money spent on seeds, pesticides and fertilisers." Gurmej Singh of the same village is disappointed, too, as he suffered more than 50 per cent damage. "It has come as a big shock but we have to think of a way of repaying the loans. I had thought of buying a tractor, which will not be possible now." In Pir Mohammed and Lehra Bet villages in Ferozepore, the damage was not just restricted to crop but also extended to houses of farmers. Says a villager, "There was 100 per cent damage. The future looks bleak as I will not be able to repay the loan I took this time. This will also mean not getting a further loan for the paddy season." Many farmers are trying to get whatever little they can out of the damaged crop, using machines. But, that too is not simple. "Clearing this land will mean more than routine expense. Machines for clearing are available for not less than Rs 1,400 an acre, unlike last time when we paid some Rs 500," says Gurcharan Singh of Pir Mohammed village. In some areas, farm operations have come to a halt due to water logging in fields. The farmers who have suffered less than 25 per cent loss, the minimum that is considered by the government as