Punjab CM announces month-long drive against adulterated pesticides

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday announced a month-long drive to check the sale of adulterated pesticides.

He made the announcement in response to a farmer's complaint on his weekly “Facebook Live #AskCaptain session”, an official statement said.

The farmer, Jaswinder Brar Kotsukhia, said they were being looted as duplicate manure was being sold by unscrupulous elements.

The chief minister said he had received a similar complaint last week too and had hence decided to launch a one-month drive to check the sale of adulterated pesticides/fertilisers in the state.

He requested all farmers to insist on a bill whenever they buy pesticides or fertilisers, saying it is helpful in taking action against any dealer who has sold inferior products.

In response to a Bathinda resident's question regarding opposition dharnas across Punjab over allegations of involvement of Congress MLAs in the alleged illicit liquor business, the chief minister said he has repeatedly made it clear that none, big or small, will be spared.

“But the opposition parties were trying to take political mileage from the hooch tragedy. The opposition parties have nothing better to do, they try to mislead the people with lies,” he said, urging people not to get carried away by their “false propaganda”.

“How can they say no action is being taken,” he asked, adding that scores of people involved in the case had been arrested.

The statement said on a Tarn Taran resident's comment that he was ready to consume poison so that his family could get Rs 5 lakh and a permanent job as he could not support his family with his salary as a contractual employee of a rural pharmacy, the CM told him that it was absolutely wrong to talk like this.

Pointing out Rs 5 lakh won't last forever, he said a cabinet sub-committee was looking into ways and means to regularise contractual employees in the state.

The chief minister assured a Hoshiarpur youth that college students will get smartphones as per the eligibility criteria announced in the election manifesto. Amarinder Singh said he will take up the issue of Punjabis stranded in Lebanon with the Centre.

Image Credits: PTI