Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour, Thawar Chand Gehlot said farmers in the BJP-ruled state were facing severe hardships as it was unable to purchase wheat from farmers after the Centre had failed to lift the grain procured by state government.
"The Centre has assured the state to lift the grains as the state lacked storage facilities. However, in April, only 17,000 jute bags were lifted by Centre against procurement of 81,000 sacks by the Centre. This has resulted in the wheat lying in open, which could rot," he said.
Gehlot stressed that the worst sufferers of the "step-motherly treatment" by Centre were farmers in the state who were unable to sell their produce despite a bumper harvest this season.
Raising another issue, Tarun Vijay (BJP) demanded that the Centre should provide Rs 1,000 crore to the Uttarakhand government for strengthening infrastructure for the famous Nanda Devi pilgrimage route.
He said the Yatra was scheduled to be undertaken by 1.5 lakh people this year and was considered one of the toughest to reach Rupkund at a height of 17,500 ft.
Given the significance of the Yatra, which was undertaken once in 12 years, he said immediate steps were needed to protect lives as well as the ecology in the area.
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Through another Zero Hour mention, K N Balagopal (CPI-M) said that due to malfunctioning of the websites, students from Kerala were debarred from filling up forms for UGC net exams.
He urged HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, who was present, to do the needful to save the career of students to which P J Kurien, who was in the Chair, said, "Education Minister should take note of it." PTI NAM AMR