Tripura govt distributes Rs 22 cr to 78,000 cyclone Midhili affected farmers: State Minister Ratan Lal Nath

Agartala (Tripura) [India], July 4 (ANI): Tripura Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Thursday said that over 78,000 farmers of the state who were affected in the cyclone "Midhili" have received financial assistance from the government.
To compensate for the losses incurred by the farmers, the state government has released Rs 22 crore through DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer).
Speaking exclusively to ANI, after the formal inauguration of the disbursement event, Nath said, "In November 2023, under the influence of Cyclone Midhili farmers suffered huge losses. All sorts of crops such as paddy, vegetables etc. got destroyed in fields. Following the cyclone, the agriculture department surveyed the state and forwarded our findings to the Revenue Department of Tripura. The department after going through our reports sanctioned funds worth Rs 22 crore which are now being deposited to the bank accounts of the farmers directly."
According to the Minister, similar events were organized at 39 locations across the state in the presence of MLAs, Ministers, and local elected representatives.
He said, "In those events, as many as 11,000 farmers assembled and the whole amount was released on the same day."
The Minister also announced a hike in wages for agriculture laborers.
"This is an important announcement. In the fiscal year 2017-18, the wage for agriculture labourers stood at Rs 177. In the last six years after BJP came to power in Tripura, the wages were revised for as many as six times. The total hike approved for people associated with this specific assignment increased by Rs 224. Recently, we have given another hike to the wages, which will come into effect from July 1. The revised wage per person per day now stands at Rs 401," he said. (ANI)