UP farmers redressing problems with help of social media: State Minister

He referred to a farmer who posted grievance on Twitter for facing problems in selling wheat

Farmers in Uttar Pradesh are increasingly adopting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India initiative and taking help of social media to seek redressal of their problems, State Cooperative Minister Mukut Bihari Verma said on Wednesday.

Referring to a recent incident to stress his point, the minister said a local farmer facing some problems in selling wheat to cooperative societies wrote about his grievance on Twitter.

"Mansa Ram Verma, a local farmer tweeted about his problem and the department not only solved it but also took action following an inspection of the concerned purchase centre," the minister told PTI on Wednesday.

The department has made available a toll-free call centre from 8 am to 8 pm and these measures have helped in the working of the department. This time we have been able to achieve a record procurement of wheat till May 29, he said.

"As against procurement of 3.5 lakh metric tonnes last year, a record 14.5 lakh metric tonnes wheat has been procured till now and the purchase is still on," the minister said, adding that the payments have been made directly in the accounts of the farmers.

Verma said efforts are on to run cooperative societies in a manner so as to improve their income and make them more viable.