CPI(M) blames Congress, BJP for farm crisis in Himachal

Farmers forced to migrate to urban areas in the State

April 23, 2014 10:50 pm | Updated May 21, 2016 01:09 pm IST - SHIMLA:

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has blamed both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party for ignoring the agriculture crisis in rural areas that is leading to mass migration to urban areas in Himachal Pradesh.

Addressing rallies in support of the CPI(M) candidate here, Jagat Ram, State party secretary Rakesh Singha said the problems posed by wild animals were the prime reason for the destruction of agriculture. Non-remunerative prices were driving fruit growers from farming.

Left leaders jointly addressed rallies in the apple belt of the State on Wednesday.

They said the CPI(M), along with mass organisations such as Kisan Sabha and other allies, had many times staged sit-ins outside the Assembly and requested political leaders to take concrete steps against the problems posed by wild animals and monkeys, but the protest was not taken seriously, the party leaders alleged. More than 60 per cent of the land had been left barren by the farmers in the State and with the problems posed by five lakh monkeys, the State’s economy was suffering an estimated loss of around Rs. 2,000 crore.

The rates of fertilizers and pesticides have increased manifold in the past few years, making agriculture a non-remunerative proposition, the CPI(M) said. The Left, which has been working as a third political force in the hill State for many years, appealed to the farmers to vote for its candidates for saving agriculture, since it is still the mainstay for the rural people in the hill State.

The CPI(M) staged a roadshow in Jubbal tehsil in Shimla. The party’s urban units also did a door-to-door campaign in main towns such as Shimla, Solan and Nahan.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.