'Farmers facing multiple onslaught of weather, inflation, govt neglect'
Chandigarh: Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said farmers of the state are facing simultaneous onslaught from weather, inflation and government neglect during the BJP-JJP government. He said farmers are not getting compensation for the damage caused by the weather or MSP of crops nor fertilizer for sowing as the government is adopting an insensitive and irresponsible attitude, despite repeated demands.
Hooda once again drew the attention of the government to the plight of the farmers and said that in the last few days, many villages of Sonipat district including Jharothi, Bhadana, Kakroi, Khanda, Jharoth, Anandpur, Kanwali, Rohat, Bhoapur, Khedi Dahiya and Nakloi have seen unseasonal rains, hailstorms and waterlogging which caused huge losses to the farmers. No compensation has been given to the farmers for the damage so far.
The Leader of the Opposition said he himself had visited several areas affected by the floods in the last few days. "Even today, the problem of waterlogging remains in many areas. Farmers and the Opposition have appealed to the government many times but the government has turned a deaf ear to their problems," he said.
Hooda said that the crop of the farmer has either been sold in the market without MSP or it has been ruined in the field. Meanwhile, farmers are not able to get even fertilizers for the next crop. Farmers are moving from one office to another for compensation and fertilizers, but the no one is even ready to listen to their plight.
The former Chief Minister said along with the government's disregard and the weather, farmers are also being hit by inflation. "The government is making a lot of noise by cutting a few paise in VAT while the truth is that the BJP government is collecting double VAT from the people, as compared to the Congress," he said.
"If the government really wants to give some relief to the farmers and the general public in inflation, it should reduce the rate of VAT and bring it down to the level of the Congress government," he added.
