Pervez flays govt for not supplying gunny bags

LAHORE - Former Punjab Chief Minister Ch Pervez Elahi has criticised the provincial government allegedly for not paying the due price of wheat to the farmers and also denying them supply of gunny bags. Pervez Elahi while taking to the farmers here Thursday said that the government is pursuing anti-farmers policies which have led the growers to run from pillar to the post to sell out their commodities. He said wheat growers are not getting the promised price of their crop while in other areas of agriculture, the government is going nothing more than lip service. In the malpractice, he said, the corrupt officials were already involved but now the rulers have also made their blue-eyed a part of this bad game to let them loot the public money and fleece the farmers. He blamed the government for formulating such policies which have obliged the farmers to stage protest from place to place. He charged the rulers for appointing their parliamentarians at the sale points of wheat to allow them mint money by way of purchasing the wheat lesser than the official rates. In his view the farmers are forced to sell out their commodities at Rs 800 per 40kgs instead of the official rate of Rs 950. He said now the wheat procured at cheaper rates would be sold out at the official rate thereby earning billions of rupees. He said the farmers never saw such bad days as they did over the last two years for which, he said only Sharifs brother are responsible who, he added, out to wreak vengeance on them for not voting for them in the elections. This situation has led the formers to remind the days of his rule in the Punjab, he added.