The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Campaign to highlight debt waiver scheme

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Campaign to highlight debt waiver scheme

Special Correspondent

Congress ‘yatra’ begins in Kasaragod tomorrow

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Pradesh Karshaka Congress, under the auspices of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), will launch a campaign to highlight the farm loan waiver scheme announced in the Union budget.

Moily to inaugurate

Congress Working Committee member Veerappa Moily will inaugurate the Karshaka Munnetra Yatra, led by the Karshaka Congress president Lal Varghese Kalpakavadi on April 1 at Kasaragod. The Yatra would touch all the Assembly constituencies and conclude in Thiruvananthapuram on April 20 with a massive rally.

Chidambaram to attend

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will address the rally. This is for the first time that the Congress party in the State is turning its attention to the agriculture sector through a campaign that would highlight the pro-farmer proposals of the Union Finance Minister.

Mr. Kalpakavadi said that apart from highlighting the Rs.60,000-crore farm loan waiver scheme, the Yatra would focus on the need to target fertilizer subsidy to genuine farmers, provide more assistance to coconut, cashew, and pepper cultivators.

He said the campaign would highlight the budget proposals beneficial to tea, coffee, cardamom rubber, pepper, cardamom, and turmeric farmers, special funds earmarked for farm insurance, irrigation and soil conservation.

To meet farmers

He said during the Yatra, the Karshaka Congress would elicit opinions from farmers on resolving the continuing crisis in the farm sector, apart from creating an awareness on the various schemes included in the Union budget. He said the budget provision of Rs.64 crore for farm insurance, Rs.7,000 crore for irrigation, Rs.20,000 crore for huge irrigation projects together would bring 4 lakh hectares of land under irrigation.

The Yatra would seek to propagate the salient features of the loan waiver scheme that is expected to benefit an estimated 4 crore farmers in the country.

The inauguration function would be attended by KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy, Union Minister Oscar Fernandez, KPCC vice-president Mullappally Ramachandran, KPCC general secretary E.M. Augusthy and secretary Alphonso John.

Mr. Kalpakavadi said the valedictory function would be attended by veteran leader K. Karunakaran, and Union Ministers A.K. Antony and Vayalar Ravi. Public meetings would be held in all the Assembly constituencies.

The programmes at these centres were being fine tuned, Mr. Kalpakavadi said.

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