Farmers duped again, unable to sell produce – UNP

With less than two weeks to go for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, paddy and vegetable farmers had been duped once again by the government, which had failed to purchase their produce at guaranteed prices, the UNP said yesterday.Paddy farmers in many areas including Anuradhapura, Madewachchiya, Polonnaruwa, Ambalangoda,
Matara and Riddegama had been told that the Paddy Marketing Board would buy a kilo of paddy between Rs. 30 to Rs. 35, but that promise had been reneged on. They were now wondering how to celebrate the New Year without disposing of their harvest at reasonable prices, UNP MP, Gayantha Karunathillake said at a news conference in Colombo.

He said that vegetable farmers, too, had been left high and dry, with the government failing to pay them the guaranteed price.

Luxury train fares had been increased and it would be a matter of days before the regular train fares were also jacked up, the MP said, adding that the New Year would dawn not to the accompaniment of birds’ chirping but with the agonizing cries of those who were starving due to the unbearable cost of living.

Karunathillake said that the Hambantota Port and the Mattala Airport projects had not brought any relief to the masses; they had only enabled a select group to make huge commissions.

A large number of graduates were still being paid a meagre Rs. 10,000 monthly allowance without being confirmed in service. It was heartening to note that many graduates had refused to participate in the ongoing "Nil Rella"( Blue Wave) of the SLFP which had failed to make any impact. Those who had voted for the Betel Leaf symbol at the last election were waiting with the "Mahinda Chintana" book in hand to give the SLFP Ministers a good scolding when they came to seek their support once again, he observed.

The villagers were publicly asking what the government had done to resolve the "Bade Rella" (‘Stomach Waves’), the MP said, noting that the "Jana Rella" (People’s Wave) had already commenced and it would very soon drown the "Nil Rella" for good.

The role of the Public Utilities Commission, he noted, was to provide relief to the people, but it was dancing to the tune of state institutions such as the Ceylon Electricity Board which had proposed a massive tariff hike.

The Power and Energy Ministry had wanted an increase in electricity rates on the basis that hydro power accounted for only eight percent of the total power supply. But, with the reservoirs overflowing such a situation no longer existed. It had already imposed a fuel surcharge causing further hardships to the public, MP Karunathilllake said.