Ludhiana, October 16
The Bharti Kisan Union, Punjab, has demanded a compensation of Rs 15,000 per acre for those cotton growers of the state who had lost 80 per cent of their previous crop on account of spurious pesticides.
At a meeting of the executive committee of the union here yesterday , which was presided over by Mr. Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, a resolution to this effect was unanimously passed. The resolution said the government, in order to make an assessment of the loss caused to the cotton crop, must order a special girdawri at once in the cotton belt of the state. It said the officials of the Agriculture Department with whose connivance spurious and fake pesticides were sold to the farmers should also be brought to book by the government.
By another resolution, the union demanded that in order to effectively combat the WTO impact, all agricultural loans should be written off. All subsidies to the farming sector should be at par with the subsidy being given to farmers in developed countries.
By another resolution, the union demanded immediate granting of power connections to farmers ,living near towns and cities as currently power connections were being given only for the dairy sector.
And in order to take all these issue to the masses, the union has chalked out a public contact programme according to which rallies would be held at Mansa on October 24, at Lambi on October 29, at Bhatinda on November 1, at Mukatsar on November 2, at Jaiton on November 5 and at Talwandi Sabo on November 6, according to Prof Manjit Singh Qadian, general secretary of the union.
