Karnal, Aug. 8 -- Weeks after a mysterious disease was first reported in Ambala's paddy fields, farmers across Haryana's key rice-producing districts-Karnal, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Kaithal, and Yamunanagar-are alarmed by stunted crop growth linked to the Southern Rice Black Streak Dwarf Virus (SRBSDV). The disease, which causes dwarfing in plants, has affected large swathes of farmland and led to mounting losses, prompting farmers to demand a special girdawari (crop damage survey) and compensation.

The virus has been found primarily in high-yielding, early transplanted non-basmati paddy varieties such as PR 114, PR 131, and PR 126-especially those sown between June 15 and 20. Field surveys by the state agriculture department, state univers...