Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 17: Former Minister Mula Ram and District Congress Committee Rural president, Hari Singh Chib said that farmers in Jammu region were facing hardships in harvesting Rabi crops due to non-availability of labour and required machines.
Mula Ram said the countrywide lockdown to control spread of the noval coronavirus is threatening the agriculture sector as it overlaps with the time of harvest. “The lockdown has totally derailed harvest season besides lack of agricultural labourers, restrictions on transportation of produce adds to farmer woes,” he said.
“Even as the farmers were anticipating a good profit this year, but the lockdown has crippled their livelihoods,” Mula Ram said.
Chib asked the Government to allow the movement of combine harvesters under essential services and provide all sort of assistance to the farmers so that they may not face any inconvenience.
“Like other parts of the country, farmers in Jammu also rely on farm labourers but due to lockdown most of them returned home to their villages,” he said.
They urged the District administration to ensure that the directives reach down the line in the administration so that farmers do not face any difficulty in their day-to-day activities as the Union Home Ministry has already exempted farm operations from the lockdown rules.
They also appealed the Lieutenant Governor to provide sufficient seeds and fertilizers so that they may not face any problem while cultivating their new crops for the next season.
Follow our WhatsApp channel