IT Correspondent
Jiribam, July 15:
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a civil society organization in the state, has expressed deep concern over the piling up of urea fertilizer at the Jiribam Railway Station. The COCOMI team, led by Assistant Coordinator Joychandra Konthoujam, conducted an inspection of the railway station today and urged the authorities to ensure the timely delivery of this essential farm input to the farmers of Manipur.
According to Konthoujam, the sight of thousands of metric tons of urea fertilizer lying idle on the open railway platform was “very dissatisfactory” for the COCOMI. He emphasized that Manipur’s farmers are currently facing acute shortages and difficulties in accessing urea, a critical requirement for agricultural productivity in the state.
“Farmers in Manipur need around 15,000 metric tons of urea fertilizer to meet their requirements. If the government fails to provide this in a timely manner, it would be akin to providing colors after the Holi festival – completely useless and a gross negligence of the authorities,” Konthoujam said.
The COCOMI leader held the transportation contractors equally responsible for the delay, stating that if they are unable to ensure the prompt delivery of urea to the farmers, they should not have accepted the government’s tenders in the first place.
“Farmers are the backbone of our society, the growers of our food grains. If we want to see development in the agricultural sector, the government must provide easy and unhindered access to urea fertilizer for our farmers,” Konthoujam emphasized.
The COCOMI has now warned the government that if the timely distribution of urea to farmers is not ensured, the organization will be compelled to launch protests and agitations against this “negligence.”
The inspection team comprised members from the COCOMI Students’ Front and the COCOMI Women’s Wing, underscoring the wide-ranging concern within the organization over this issue.