TOEFL scores valid for Australian visa
Chandigarh, October 10- Reiterating that SAD-BJP alliance government was, is and would ever remain committed for the welfare of the farmers, the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today exhorted the agitating farmers and farm labour unions to call off their stir in larger public interest.
In a statement issued here today, the Chief Minister said that SAD had always been a votary of the farmers and their rights adding that their government had always taken appropriate steps to safeguard the interests of the farmers. He said that though the farmers have been in distress due to the anti-farmers stance of the previous Congress governments at the Centre but the SAD-BJP alliance had taken slew of historic initiatives to bail out the farmers. Mr. Badal said that right from subsidies to timely dispensation of compensation, whenever required, the state government has always extended a helping hand to the farmers.
The Chief Minister said that apart from taking these welfare measures for farming community we were fully conscious that agriculture was no longer a profitable venture and thus the state government had introduced agriculture diversification program due to which the farmers were getting handsome returns through allied farming activities like dairy, fishery, goatery and piggery. He further said that it was on record that whenever our farmers had faced any sort of problem the SAD-BJP alliance government has came to their rescue. Mr. Badal said that during the past more than eight years the state government has provided free power to farmers worth Rs 28000 crore otherwise their problems would have accentuated manifold on account of electricity bills of tube well.
Likewise, the Chief Minister said that when the wheat crop of the farmers was damaged due to untimely rains in April 2015 the state government ensured that every grain was lifted. In the same manner, he said that the state government took every step to resolve the impending sugarcane crisis by ensuring the payment of arrears to the farmers from private and cooperative sugar mills. “Even now when the cotton cultivators had suffered huge loss due to white fly attack our government immediately released compensation to the tune of Rs 644 crore to help them” added Mr. Badal.
Terming that the state government was ready to accept every genuine demand of the farmers, the Chief Minister appealed the farmers to lift the rail blockade which was causing huge harassment to general public besides causing a whopping economic loss to the nation. He said that the state government had already taken several steps for safeguarding the interests of farmers and it would leave no stone unturned to bail the distressed farmers out of severe crisis. “Being a farmer myself I am well versed with your problems and difficulties so I urge you to shun the path of agitation and initiate a process of dialogue for amicable solution of this grave problem” Mr. Badal appealed to the farmers.
Meanwhile, according to the spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office, Mr. Badal has convened a meeting of representatives of various farmers and farm labour unions on Monday evening to hold detailed discussions with them on the various issues confronted them.
