Congress demands separate agricultural policy for hill states

DEHRADUN: The ruling Congress in Uttarakhand today demanded a separate agricultural policy for hill states considering their unique geographical and environmental conditions.

"The geographical and environmental conditions of hill and plain regions are very different and they need separate agricultural policies. I urge Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to frame a separate agricultural policy for the Himalayan states, including Uttarakhand in view of this," Pradesh Congress spokesman Dhirendra Pratap said in a statement here while a Chief Ministers' conference is in progress in Delhi.

He also drew the Congress President's attention towards the menace of pigs and monkeys in Uttarakhand which had led to shrinking of cultivable land in the state to just 10 per cent.

"Pigs and monkeys has become the biggest source of headache for the farmers of Uttarakhand who are now left with only 10 per cent land fit for cultivation. However, the produce of even 10 per cent land is destroyed by pigs and monkeys," he said, demanding that a campaign be launched to rid the farmers of the menace.