Tripura: Farmer's family deprived of welfare scheme for supporting political party

Septuagenarian Abdul Barik, a farmer, is still to get enlisted in any farmers welfare scheme just because of his exceptional political choice. The sole mistake of the farmer, who hails from the Hamidpur locality under Dhaliyarkandi Gram Panchayat of Kailasahar (Unakoti district), Tripura is that he is a BJP Pristha Pramukh. It may sound a bit ironic that a BJP worker is unable to avail the government facilities despite his party being in power, but it remains a fact.

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According to reports, their locality had been named after the name of Abdul Barik’s father Abdul Hamid. Being the oldest family of the locality, Barik’s family was predominantly known as the agricultural source of the locality. Barik and his son Abdul Bachit (35) were in the field of agriculture since long but every time they approached the local agriculture sector office for government sponsored assistance they were rejected.

The Dhaliyarkandi Gram Panchayat is now ruled by the Congress. And, in the beneficiary selection process, Abdul Barik gets rejected every time for his political alignment although the Tripura government is laying emphasis on doubling farmers' incomes.

A pump machine costs Rs 28,000 in the local market whereas if it is availed through the farmer welfare schemes it costs only Rs 14,400. Time and again, my application is rejected by the local Panchayat in Tripura because I support the party that is not in power where I live. People who speak for the farmers in TVs show their real faces while being in power”, Barik told reporters after he was refuted for the third consecutive time this year.

Barik also said the Aush paddy season is round the corner. All the farmers are now getting paddy seeds from the agriculture sector office, Tripura but only he hasn't got what he actually deserves to get.

He also pointed fingers at the lapses and irregularities taking place at the local agriculture office. “The Panchayat, the VLW (Village Level Worker) and agriculture sector office are not doing justice to the local farmers. Most of the fertilizers, seeds and other assistance that are coming in the name of farmers are being sold in the local markets. This should not happen when the government is trying to empower the farmers first”, Barik told media persons.

The farmers who come under the jurisdiction of Laxmipur agriculture sector also sought the attention of the Chief Minister and the Agriculture Minister of Tripura to get his deserved share of assistance.

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