Thiruvananthapuram: Congress-led Opposition on Wednesday staged a walkout from the Kerala Assembly in protest against disallowing an adjournment motion seeking discussion over State government’s alleged failure in market intervention to support rubber growers as well as paddy and coconut farmers who are facing crisis due to drought and price fall of their produces.
Seeking the leave of the House to move the motion in this regard, Sunny Joseph of Congress alleged that the Government failed to increase the support price of rubber and extend support to farmers from other sectors.
Agriculture Minister VS Sunil Kumar said his department has reimbursed more than Rs 700 crore as incentives to the rubber growers through their bank accounts after his government came into power, compared to Rs 300 crore given during the previous UDF regime.
Stating that the Government was chalking out various schemes to help the farmers and ensure maximum price for their produces, the Minister said he was also in touch with the Centre to solve the crisis in rubber sector due to various policy changes by the Centre.
Kerala Congress (M) leader K.M. Mani said farmers had remained neglected for the past 50 years.
Neither the Centre nor the State government was adopting effective market intervention steps to support them, he added. He also requested the Government to raise the support price to Rs 200 for rubber. (UNI)
