Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday started the process of distributing compensation to farmers for crop damage caused by untimely rains.

According to an official statement, the government distributed Rs 40 crore to farmers.

Addressing a gathering here, Mann said he himself distributed Rs?6?crore out of the total Rs?12.94?crore as compensation for?362?villages of Fazilka.

"This is not a day of happiness," Mann said, adding he was here to compensate farmers for the loss inflicted due to nature's fury.

"This reflects the firm commitment of his government to bail out people especially the food growers in this hour of crisis," he added.

Untimely rains accompanied by hailstorms and high-velocity winds have damaged crops in many areas of Punjab.

Mann said he extensively toured the affected areas to take stock of the situation at the ground level, adding that he was peeved to note the loss suffered by the farmers.

The state government then ordered a special 'girdawari' (field inspection) to ascertain the loss, he said. "This special 'girdawari' was a paradigm shift as compared to the previous government as earlier, no compensation was given to the people," Mann claimed.

During the previous regimes, compensation was delayed so much that most ministers and MLAs used to forget which cheques of compensation they were disbursing.

However, under the present government, Mann said, damaged crops were still standing in the fields but compensation has already been deposited in the farmers' bank accounts.