Farmers staged a demonstration at Chowk Kutchehry on Monday and burnt the “Phutti” because they are incurring Rs 1200/ maund loss by selling their produce at Rs 1950. The demo was jointly organised by Pakistan Kisan Board (PKB) and Pakistan Kisan Ittehad.
Khurshid Kanju of PKB said that the farmers of Southern Punjab have suffered a loss of Rs 200 billion due to low price of cotton, paddy and sugarcane crops and worst power load shedding. These factors have caused exorbitant hike in the cost of production which has inflicted grave wounds on the agriculture sector of the region. Farmers urged the government to take appropriate steps for saving the farmers from total collapse. They also talked about the treaty which was signed between India and Pakistan in 1959.
By virtue of this treaty Pakistan sold three of its rivers to India which “they termed” the main cause of acute shortage of canal water and subsoil water level in Southern Punjab. The water shortage has posed a great threat to the human being and wild life of the region and deserve immediate attention,” they pointed out. He stressed the need for the construction of Kalabagh Dam and other water reservoirs to overcome water scarcity. They appealed to the govt to raise support prices of agriculture produces and lesson burden on the agriculture sector through abolition of undue taxes.
