Locust-hit Barmer farmers stage protest, demand special relief package

Barmer (Rajasthan ) [India], Feb 5 (ANI): Hundreds of farmers in Gudamalani of Rajasthan's Barmer district on Wednesday held a day-long demonstration, demanding compensation for their crops lost in the locust attack.
The protest was led by Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), which submitted a memorandum of farmers' demand to the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Gudamalani.
For the past several months, locust attacks in a number of western Rajasthan districts have destroyed crops and caused heavy losses to farmers.
Hariram Manjhu, district head of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh told ANI, "In Barmer district, various crops are badly affected due to locust attack and hence causing financial distress to farmers. The state government has announced relief money of Rs. 27,000 per 2 hectares of land. Farmers are getting only Rs.11,000 against the announced amount of relief and adding to distress administrators are also asking various documents from farmers."
The protestors also accused the government of not taking enough actions to curb the menace of locust attack.
State General Secretary of RLP, Ummedaram Beniwal, said the government should assess the damage by sending a team to the locust affected areas. He also demanded that the government should declare it as a national disaster and provide special relief package to the farmers of Rajasthan. (ANI)