‘Lowering import duty on US apples will have a catastrophic impact on local produce’

Shopian, Apr 6: All India Kissan Sabha (AIKS) organised a day-long state conference in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Sunday. The conference was attended by hundreds of farmers, particularly apple cultivators from different apple-rich districts of Kashmir.

Addressing the conference, AIKS president Rajan Kshirsagar said that the Central government had surrendered before the US government’s imposition of reciprocal taxes.

“We are importing 5 lakh tons of apples, which is taking a toll on our farmers,” said Kshirsagar.

He said “Lowering import duty on Washington apples would undercut the domestic produce and government should give a befitting reply to American imperialism instead of yielding to it.”

Criticising the National Policy Framework on Agriculture Marketing, Kshirsagar said that the policy would negatively impact the apple cultivators in Kashmir and other apple-producing states of India.

He said that such policies were being forcibly imposed on farmers across the country.

Kshirsagar said that the government had failed to set up the cooperative cold storage in Kashmir.

Former Rajya Sabha member and CPI National Secretary Aziz Pasha said that due to inadequate transportation  and post-harvest management facilities, the farmers in Kashmir were facing many difficulties.

“Sometimes they are not even unable to recoup the input costs”, said Pasha.

The former Rajya Sabha member said that it was unfortunate that the farmers despite producing the first-rate apples had to grapple with losses due to the anti-farmer policies of the government.

Castigating PM Narendra Modi led NDA government over the passage of Waqf Bill, Pasha said that the government had no right to interfere in the religious matters of Muslims.

“ This not only violates our constitutional rights, but also disturbs communal amity,” he said.

He said that the government should respect the religious institutions and refrain from interfering in religious affairs.

CPI state Secretary G. M Mizrab said that the government should implement the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission instead of pursuing anti-fomer policies.

He criticised the government for dispossessing farmers of their land in the name of development.

“The government is developing new railroads only to dispose farmers of their cultivable land,” he said.

He added that people had never demanded such rail lines, which took away their livelihoods instead of creating new opportunities.

Prominent among others who spoke on the occasion included, Khursheed Ahmad, Adv G. M Bhat, Bashir Ahmad and others.