Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers to remind PM of his ‘promise’ for potato processing unit in Agra at Aligarh rally

AGRA: For the past eight years, farmers in the Agra region have been waiting for a potato processing unit. In November 2013, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before the 2014 general elections, while addressing a mega rally at Kothi Meena Bazaar had spoken about the need for a potato processing unit in Agra. Now, ahead of the PM’s rally in Aligarh on September 14, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) members said over 5,000 farmers from across the district will go to the meeting to remind him of the “pending promise”. Cultivated in around 75,000 hectares, Agra is the largest potato producing district of northern India. As per the plan, farmers will leave for Aligarh early in the morning on Tuesday by private vehicles and roadways buses. Farmers will not hold any demonstration at the PM’s rally and will highlight their demands only with handmade posters. On Sunday, BKU district president Rajveer Lawaniya said, “PM Modi led-BJP government has completed seven years but the potato processing unit still remains a dream. We will go to Aligarh to remind him of his promise he made before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. We will peacefully highlight our demand at the public event.” BKU’s women wing leader, Savitri Chahar, said, “Trusting the PM, farmers in Agra voted for BJP and made party's candidates win both the Parliament seats and all the nine assembly seats. But in return, they got nothing meaningful." According to farmers, a potato processing unit in Agra is necessary as it will supplement farmers' income and create a scope for manufacturing of various potato products at the local level. Farmers will not have to preserve potatoes in cold storages for a long time. The unit will also generate employment opportunities. Besides the processing unit, farmers at the Aligarh rally are also going to demand for a subsidy on cold storage charges. At present, there are 270 cold storage units in Agra district with a total capacity of over 25 lakh metric tonnes. The PM will be in Aligarh to lay the foundation stone of the upcoming Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh University. Modi will also allocate land to 19 investors, investing Rs 1,500 crore in Aligarh node of the defence corridor. This will be the first of his many visits in the state ahead of the 2022 assembly elections.

The Times of India

2021-09-13

Agra