BY OUR STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, Aug 10: Barpeta MP Sirajuddin Ajmal has written to Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh seeking a compensation of Rs 100 crore for the potato growers of the Lok Sabha constituency. Ajmal in a letter to the Union Agriculture Minister, writes, “This year in Barpeta HPC, about 20,000 farmers predomintly from Banghbar, Chenga and Jania LAC had grown potatoes in approximate 13,850 hectres and harvested about 1,40,000 tons of potatoes and as much as Rs 200 crores of farmers fund were spent . These farmers kept their vproducts dumped along the road side for four-five months and waited for the suppliers and buyers. But due to lack of buyers almost 80% of these potatoes allowed to decompose at the dumping sites.” “The State Agriculture department did neither take any care of these potatoes nor does the government take any steps in providing any type of compensation to these poor farmers till date,” Ajmal writes.
He writes to the minister that considering the plight of the potato growers, the Union Agriculture ministry should take steps for providing compensation to them.