Govt must allow farmers to cultivate poppy seed

Bathinda, August 22

The Punjab Kisan Union has demanded from the state government to allow farmers to cultivate the poppy seed to reclaim dry farming.

Denouncing agrarian policies of successive governments, union president Surmukh Singh Sidhu said farmers were committing suicides in the state every day.

He said the cultivation of poppy seed would improve the financial condition of the farmers in the state as it could provide them profit of as much as Rs 1 lakh per acre. It would bring down suicide incidents among farmers of the region.

There would be restriction on the usage of excessive water in the future, hence the farmers should be allowed to adopt such farming, Sidhu said.

He also accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of not fulfilling promises they made prior to the Lok Sabha elections, including the implementation of recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report.

Speaking on the current flood situation in the state, he said around 2 lakh people had been affected due to this natural calamity. The opening of floodgates of the Bhakra dam had also caused a huge loss to the crops. He said the announcement of Rs 100 crore by the CM was a joke as it doesn’t reflect the real losses. — TNS