Badal appeals to farmers to call off protest

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today again appealed to protesting farmers to lift their rail blockade saying being a farmer himself, he was ever ready to resolve any issue related to agriculture through mutual dialogue.
Badal said this while presiding over a meeting with the representatives of coordination committee of 18 farmer and farm labour unions here this evening.
He termed as "very unfortunate" and "agonizing" the inconvenience caused to various section of people particularly women, children, students, patients, elderly people and traders due to rail blockade.
Reiterating Akali-BJP government's resolve to accept every genuine demand of the farmers, the Chief Minister appealed the union leaders to lift the rail blockade which was causing huge harassment to general public besides causing a whopping economic loss to the nation.

He said the state government had already taken several steps for safeguarding the interests of farmers and would leave no stone unturned to bail out the distressed farmers.
Badal also said that he was ever ready to resolve any issue related to agriculture, being a farmer, through a mutual dialogue.

He said none except him could better under their problems and concerns with regard to agriculture, as he was well versed with them at grass-root level with over 60 years of experience in public life as well as a practicing farmer.
The Chief Minister gave a patient hearing to the union leaders and said issues or demands they have put forth before him and which were within the jurisdiction of the state government would be amicably resolved.

He, however, said the issues which were not within the ambit of the state government would be taken up with the Centre for their early resolution.
Badal said the Akali-BJP Government had always been a votary of the farmers and their rights, and taken appropriate steps to safeguard the interests of the farmers.
"Apart from taking these welfare measures for farming community we were fully conscious that agriculture was no longer a profitable venture," Badal said.
He claimed whenever farmers faced any problem or hardship, the Government wasted no time to come to their rescue which was evident from the bold initiatives taken by the Akali-BJP Government in providing free power to farmers since 2007.

"The Akali-BJP Government, since 2007 has provided free power to farmers worth Rs 28,000 crore otherwise their problems would have been accentuated manifold if they had to pay electricity bills of tube-wells from their own pocket," he said.