Punjab farmers in Georgia at a loose end

Badal says will ask Centre to intervene

September 01, 2014 03:07 am | Updated 03:07 am IST - Chandigarh

The issue of Punjabi farmers owning farmland in Georgia being denied visas by the Georgian government has become a cause for concern in Punjab where scores of farmers in recent years have bought agricultural land at cheap rates.

Raising the issue, Sukhpal Khaira, a former Congress MLA, said that farmers, lured by unscrupulous agents and false advertisements, had lost investment worth crores of rupees.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has also expressed concern and said it was a matter for the Central government to pursue with the Georgian government and that he would urge the Centre to look into the problem.

In a statement issued here, Mr. Khaira saidPunjabi farmers had spent their life’s savings to invest in Georgia. But without assigning any legitimate reason, the Georgia government had been denying them visa.

Their large-scale exodus underlined the critical situation of the State’s agrarian economy, he added.

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.