Himachal govt not serious about apple crisis in state: Congress leader

SHIMLA: AICC secretary and former minister Sudhir Sharma said that the government is not looking serious about the apple season as government is completely silent on the preparations made so far. He said that due to this, the concern of the fruit growers is continuously increasing and the apple season is beginning to cloud the crisis. He said that under the gab of coronavirus crisis, government is trying to shy away from its responsibility by increasing the support price of apple by just 50 paise. He said that government is making a lot of claims but nothing is happening on the ground.
He said that there are talks of arranging labourers but in actual apple growers are not getting labourers. He said that no concrete arrangement of tray-carton has been made, nor is the marketing plan clear. He said that government should take effective steps in view of apple season so that the fruit growers do not have to face troubles. He said that rainy season has also started and during this time there is a risk of landslides and flash floods. In such a situation, the government should keep preparations in advance so that the life of the people is not affected and there is no problem in bringing the apple crop to the markets, he added.
He said that support value of apple should be at least Rs 10 per kg. He said that increase in support price in sprouted mango, achari mango, kalmi mango, galgal, B grade kinnu, Malta and orange is also inadequate.
Sudhir Sharma said that on one hand, due to the unseasonal rains, the crops of farmers and vegetable growers have suffered heavy losses, on the other hand, fruits like cherry, mango, pulm, peache, khumani have also suffered heavy losses. In such a situation, the BJP government should provide some economic package to the farmers and fruit growers who are benefiting, he added.
He said that chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and his leaders talk big about the package, but no one is talking about what relief was given to the common people in the Covid era. He said that promises of doubling farmers' income are hollow. By increasing the prices of petrol and diesel, the common class is being hit by inflation. He said that the economy of country which has deteriorated today is the result of the policies of the Center, he said.