Rural areas not getting essentials in Himachal Pradesh

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 27

While the entire focus remains on maintaining supply of essential commodities in urban areas, the farmers and villages in rural areas are facing difficulty in getting medicines and farm inputs like pesticides, spray oils and other equipment.

The farmers rue that they are facing hardship in carrying out their essential farm activities which are supposed to be done at this time of the year owing to restrictions on their movement. As there are no government guidelines with regard to allowing farmers to purchase farm inputs, they are unable to use their vehicles to pick up the material from the shops located in Theog, Shimla, Chopal, Kotkhai Jubbal and Rohru.

Urging CM Jai Ram Thakur to prepare guidelines for them, the farmers say in the absence of clear guidelines, the police and other officials are not allowing their vehicular movement to fetch inputs for harvesting, transporting and selling and carrying their goods and essentials like pesticides, spray oils, repairs of machines to the nearest township.

The patients also continue to face shortage of essential and live saving drugs in Chopal, Nerwa and other places. “The administration should either direct local private chemists to get the life-saving drugs from Shimla, Theog and Solan or the administration should ensure the delivery of the medicines in these rural areas”, said Balbir Singh Jhagta, a prostrate patient. Many patients are facing shortage of medicines here as there is just one chemist here.

Farmers lamented how the administration expects them to get supplies from towns like Shimla and Theog from the villages located 60 km to 100 away on foot, said Surender Chauhan, a farmer.

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