By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 31: Although tall claims of central schemes reaching out to the farming fraternity are made time and again, select farmers from Umkiang, in a startling revelation, have said that they are oblivious to the existence of farmer-friendly schemes of the central government.
A group of reporters recently enquired farmers in Umkiang, a village bordering Bangladesh, if they are receiving benefits of central schemes, to which they replied in negative. “Leave the money apart, we are not even aware if any scheme exists,” a farmer said.
He lamented that that nobody even cared to turn up and apprise them of any such scheme meant solely for the farmers.
It may be mentioned that Meghalaya shares a long 443-km-long international border with Bangladesh with a majority of the area being fenced. There are several farmers whose agricultural land is on the other side of the fence and these farmers cultivate across the border under the supervision of BSF.
There are even times when the BSF personnel lend a helping hand to the farmers in addition to guarding the porous borders.
Some farmers have also alleged that more often than not, thieves from the neighbouring country steal their crops.
As these farmers continue to incur losses, they are counting on authorities to ensure any government scheme to alleviate their woes.