'Farmers are not receiving the government's support price announced for paddy crop haplessly selling their crop at throw-away price only to pay off the loans they had availed for purchasing diesel, fertiliser and seeds.'
The former Punjab Chief Minister and a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said this in a meeting of the party legislators, office bearers and ticket holders from Sialkot, Narowal and Hafizabad on Monday. Elahi maintained that the government had fixed support price of paddy at Rs 1500 per 40-kg and also announced that purchase of paddy from farmers at government support price would be ensured.
However, he claimed that the farmers were running from pillar to post for selling their crop and no government or other body including Passco were ready to purchase paddy. Further, he said that farmers were not happy with those who raised tall claims of purchasing the last grain of the crop. Punjab rulers have failed to implement the promise, like many other promises they made to the farmers, he said.
The PML-Q leader further said that the farmers were getting a maximum amount of Rs 1100 per 40kg of paddy and they had no option except to sell the crop at this price. He feared that the situation would create negative impact on sowing of wheat crop because the farmers were finding it difficult to meet the expenses required for sowing of wheat crop.
Elahi urged the government to take immediate steps to purchase paddy crop from the farmers at the government's announced support price. He also expressed concern over the increasing prices of pesticides, diesel and fertiliser said that the farmers by not getting support price of paddy going through a great extent of difficulty in meeting their expenses.
The participants of the meeting praised Chaudhry Shujaat and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for making sincere efforts to keep the party united and effective. They asked the critics of Chaudhry Brothers to mind their own before criticising the PML-Q leaders.