Shahjahanpur: Prem Kumar Tiwari, one of the many disgruntled farmers who had attended Prime MInister Narendra Modi's 'Kisan Kalyan' rally in Shajahanpur on Saturday, said "Though the government has increased MSPs of various crops, the benefits never reach marginal farmers like us due to corrupt officials and middlemen. The MSP for wheat is Rs 1,735 per quintal but when we go to government centres, we are forced to give a portion of wheat to them and, hence, it effectively costs us Rs 1,300-1,400 per quintal, which is the normal rate outside government procurement centres.”“The policies of the government is good but it can be successful only when tough action is taken against corrupt officials and middlemen,” said Tiwari, who hails from Bodhani village under Sevata sub-division of Sitapur district."The loan waiver scheme of the UP government did not help me at all. Earlier, I had taken a loan of Rs 65,000 and later repaid it with interest. I again withdrew the amount and paid it earlier so that the interest rate does not go up. However, the government waived the loan of farmers who had taken it till March 31, 2016. Honest farmers are suffering but defaulters who never visited banks received benefits,” said Tiwari.Rakesh Kumar, another farmer from Bhabhunahabad village in Mitauli sub-division of Lakhimpur Kheri district, does not prefer to sale his produce at government procurement centres. “It takes at least 15 days for the administration to transfer the money to our accounts. We are poor farmers and need the money immediately to meet our expenses, including payment for fertiliser and diesel. We get cash on the spot if we sale our crops to middlemen.”Adarsh Pathak, 28, a native of Hathipur village in Hardoi district, said, “I, along with 30 people of my village, travelled to Shahjahanpur just to know when our sugarcane dues would be released. Delay in release of sugarcane payment has been an issue but nobody has taken a tough stand on it. They don’t understand our plight when we struggle to get our money to meet our personal expenses.”Bhupendra Pratap Singh, a sugarcane farmer from Bathra village under Tilhar police station of Shahjahanpur, said, “After harvesting the sugarcane crop, we have to sow wheat. However, the payment of sugarcane is released after a year or two. We will get relief only when we get payment season-wise.”Dharampal Singh, 45, a resident of Laadpur Mudiya village under Bhuta police station of Bareilly said, “Though I took a loan of Rs 66,000, it was not waived due to negligent officials. The interest rate on my loan was also not reduced. Farming is not profitable anymore, and I have asked my son to look for a job in a factory.”

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