Atta-Dal scheme’s politicisation triggers farmer unions’ protest

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 18

Activists of the Kirti Kisan Union (KKU) and Pendu Mazdoor Union on Monday met the Deputy Commissioner and apprised him of the problems being faced by people in getting the benefits of the Atta-Dal and other schemes.

The delegation, led by KKU state general secretary Datar Singh and district president Dhanwant Singh Khatrae Kalan, said the Atta-Dal scheme had been politicised by sarpanches. “Sarpanches prefer to distribute Atta-Dal from their homes instead of a public place. This hurts the dignity of poor people who are made to feel like beggars by the sarpanches,” said Datar Singh.

He added that even genuine people were being denied the benefits and non-beneficiaries were given the benefit in many villages. “The panchayats are benefiting their supporters at the cost of genuinely poor beneficiaries,” he said.

Dhanwant Singh said that in many villages of the Ajnala sub-division, the PSPCL had disconnected supply to water tubewells feedings overhead water tanks in many villages. “The previous panchayats had not deposited the electricity bills even though peoples’ share was collected from them. The water level has gone down so deep that even hand pumps have stopped working,” he added.

Dhanwant Singh said poor people could not spent huge amount which was required to dig a submersible bore at their homes and they were completely dependent on public water supply system. He said people from various villages filed complaints with the district administration on Monday.

Baldev Singh Sandhu (retired principal), Sucha Singh Khera, Balwinder Singh Mukaam, Vijay Shah Dhariwal, Sukhdev Singh Dabbar, Ranjit Singh and Jagdev Bagga Singh were part of the delegation that met the Deputy Commissioner.