KUMARHATTI: The issue of damage to crop by animals in general and by monkeys in particular could embarrass the political parties during electioneering this time. For the villagers in this area all other issues have turned irrelevant as they only wanted solution to animals’ problem. The issue has gained such proportion that all political parties currently in process of door to door campaigning were facing only one common demand to tackle the problem.
The animal menace has emerged as a major threat to farm occupation in area, opined Mr. Pyare Lal Sharma the General Secretary of Solan Kisan Sabha while talking to this correspondent here today. We want all political partiers to make their stand clear on the issue, he asserted.
For this purpose a big district level jan sabha has been convened at Garhkhal near Kasauli on November 18, said Mr. Sharma. The district president and secretary of each political party in Solan have been invited in jan sabha to tell the villagers about their respective parties’ plans to handle the problem, he said.
If the people failed to get satisfactory answer from parties during jan sabha we would leave no other option than to go for a series of agitation, he pointed out.
He said the successive state governments have failed to understand the problem hence large tract of arable land has turned barren. Without agriculture the farmer has left meager income avenues to make their both ends meet, he said adding it was a high time for political parties to come on a common platform to save farmers from problem.
Industrialization, selling river sites for hydro generation, cement industry uprooting people and making good land fallow are all priorities for the powers that be, but when it comes to serving the over 90% people who live in villages across Himachal and who are rooted to agrarian economy, there is hardly a dissenting voice heard from any political party.
The man-monkey conflict is a huge problem and no serious thought is being given to it.
Its good that people are organising up and demanding that political parties take serious note of the issues confronting them.
The issue of Man with monkeys is turning out to be a grave problem! Where the speechless animals don’t deserve to be out casted, there is no doubt that the existence of the two together is pretty impossible now. Good if people have realized that except problems of illiteracy, poverty etc such issues need attention too!!!