Lok Sabha poll: Vegetable growers want their issues included in manifestos

Mahesh Sharma

Malerkotla, March 18

Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, around 5,000 vegetable growers of Malerkotla town and 150 surrounding rural localities have tried to draw attention of political parties intending to launch candidates in Fatehgarh Sahib and Sangrur constituencies towards their long pending issues.

They are sombre that none of the successive governments in the Centre ever bothered to implement or draft a policy for their welfare and no outfit ever organised some morcha to raise voice in their favour.

Having failed to get their demands accepted and implemented in routine, these marginalised farmers supplying fresh vegetables across the state, have announced to support candidates of only parties which include their demands in their election manifesto.

Better healthcare and education facilities near their localities, interest-free loans for purchasing inputs, adequate compensation to lessee instead of landlord in case of crop failure due to inclement weather, issuance of J forms by commission agents, better prices for vegetable on pattern of MSP, establishment of medium scale food processing units in the region and export of vegetables, were cited among major demands of the vegetable growers.

Farmers Federation Malerkotla chairman Mehmood Akhtar Shad regretted that members of about 5,000 families of vegetable growers of the region had been forced to live an indecorous lifestyle due to alleged defective policies of successive governments in the Centre. Though Malerkotla is known as the biggest supplier of fresh vegetables of high quality, none of Members of Parliament ever bothered to raise their issue in either of the houses.

“Having come to know about their plights, we have urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to impress upon the concerned authorities in the BJP-led Union Government to consider issue of vegetable growers sympathetically and do the needful as soon as possible,” said Shad adding that authorities in Punjab Wakf Board would be appealed to act as a bridge between commercial banks and vegetable growers for enabling them to avail interest free loans for procurement of inputs. “As Islam does not allow pay or receive interest, Punjab Wakf Board can compensate lending banks or make some alternative arrangement,” said Shad.

Justifying demand raised by vegetable growers to get their issues included in election manifestos, Shad argued that all major political parties launching candidates in the ensuing LS elections should clear their stand on the issue.

Demand price on pattern of MSP

Better healthcare and education facilities near their localities, interest-free loans for purchasing inputs, adequate compensation to lessee instead of land owner in case of crop failure due to inclement weather, issuance of J forms by commission agents, better prices for vegetable on pattern of Minimum Support Price, establishment of medium scale food processing units in the region and export of vegetables, were cited among major demands of the vegetable growers.

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