Badal agrees to take up border farmers issue with Centre

Chandigarh, Mar 11 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today assured the state Assembly that he would take up with the Centre the issues related to the problem of farmers who have their agricultural land between the international border with Pakistan and the barbed wire fence.

"I will request the Union Government to give some form of concessions or relaxation to the farmers in the border belt", he said while replying to a querry by Virsa Singh Valtoha (SAD) during question hour.

The member expressed concern that the farmers faced a great deal of difficulties as their working hours in their fields were limited due to the dusk-to-dawn curfew along the Indo Pakistan border. He claimed that at places the area under curfew was beyond the prescribed 500-metre belt along the border.

The Chief Minister in his replying pointed that the curfew was imposed to check "undesriable activity" along the border which could be a threat to the security of the nation. He said that the Border Security Force (BSF) at times decides on the area limits of the curfew.

On the persistant demand of the member, the Chief Minister even agreed to take up the matter with the BSF so that area under curfew does not exceed the 500-metre limit.

UNI HS JS1819