Congress woos farmers for Mansa event

BATHINDA: The Congress government in Punjab has gone all out to attract farmers to its function in Mansa for distributing certificates of farm loan waiver on Sunday, mostly because names of several agriculturists are missing from the lists of beneficiaries that were released recently.
CM Amarinder Singh is expected to distribute loan-waiver certificates to farmers in Mansa, a district where several farmers have committed suicide due to inability to pay back loans. The state government is trying to gather over 25,000 farmers for the event. Farmers arriving in town for the event will be provided snacks at the venue, Mansa Grain Market, and be given a packed lunch.

Farmers from other districts will be provided breakfast on the way to Mansa. Punjabi singer Gurdas Mann will regale the farmer. In all, 46,000 farmers from 700 agriculture cooperative societies of five districts of Mansa, Bathinda, Moga, Faridkot and Muktsar will be provided certificates of loan waiver totalling Rs 167 crore. In all, 5.63 lakh farmers have to get waiver of nearly Rs 2,700 crore in phases.

The cash-strapped state government is spending generously on the function associated with loan waiver. Sources said the government was worried over voices rising against truncated loan waiver scheme and wanted to generate goodwill by spending on travel and meals of farmers who will attend the event.

A bus has been provided to every village cooperative agriculture society to bring farmers to Mansa. Cooperative Societies' Employee Union president Jaskaran Singh Kotshamir said, "In all, 170 buses have been hired for 193 cooperative societies in Bathinda. We have been asked to gather farmers who are expected not to take part in any agitation."

Mansa deputy commissioner Dharampal Gupta said elaborate arrangements had been made to provide maximum facilities to farmers. Hundreds of farmers, however, are angry over not finding their names in the lists of beneficiaries. Protests have been staged across many villages. Two farm organisations of Punjab have decided to hold protests in Mansa when the CM will hand over certificates to farmers.

Similarly, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided to protest in Mansa on Sunday, claiming the state government failed to keep its promise of complete farm loan waiver. "Before 2017 assembly elections, Congress promised complete loan waivers. Now, its government is writing off only small amounts owed by marginal farmers," said Pujnjab AAP co-convener Aman Arora.