Need to take appropriate steps to save farmers & labourers : BKU

Need to take appropriate steps to save farmers & labourers : BKU

Ferozepur, May 26, 2016: Continuing the dharna for the third day led by Bhag Singh Markhai, Member delegate Punjab, on a call from Bharti Kissan Union (Ugrahan) Punjab, raised voice to stop the suicides by the farmers and for taking appropriate steps to save farmers and labourers.

Present among others sitting on the dharna were – Sukhdev Singh President Khosa Dal Singh, Karnail Singh, General Secretary, Gurpreet Singh Vice President, Jaswant Singh, President Zira, Gurcharan Singh Khepal President Mallanwala, Gurpal Singh President Fatehgarh Sabrawan, balwinder Singh Senior Farmers leaders, Dalip Singh Rukna Begu, Bagicha Singh, Teja Singh, Darbara Singh, Jarmal Singh.

Added here, India is an agrarian country with around 60% of its people depending directly or indirectly upon agriculture. Farmer suicides account for 11.2% of all suicides in India. Activists and scholars have offered a number of conflicting reasons for farmer suicides, such as monsoon failure, high debt burdens, genetically modified crops, government policies, public mental health, personal issues and family problems.

Holding responsible the government for the continuous suicides by the farmers because of the reasons – arranging unnecessary loans by the middlemen from the banks to the farmers by retaining hefty amounts, arranging heavy loans even for the small farmers and non-marketing of the produce of the farmers at the suitable rates, Bhag Singh Markhai said, the government should take appropriate steps to saved the farmers and labourers and demanded compensation of Rs.3 lac to each family of farmers who have committed suicides in the past.