Early Times Report
JAMMU, Oct 3: The handholding being offered by the government to the rural population- including the farmers, through its wide range of schemes has changed lives of many in border district Kathua as elsewhere in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The rural centric schemes with the key intent of raising the standard of people’s life are mainly being implemented through a mission mode by Rural Development, Agriculture and allied Departments. The interventions through these schemes provide the farmers moral support, guidance, technical knowhow and the much needed Financial Assistance.
It is this multilevel support that has changed the life of Hans Raj from bare existence to a decent living. Hans Raj, a farmer with a medium landholding said “This has become possible by the support I received from the Agriculture Department.”
Narrating his success story, Hans Raj resident of ward no 1 Panchayat Dambra-East, Block Mahanpur (Kathua), said that with an average landholding ‘I could only meet bare minimum needs of the life for my family.’
His life changed when the department of Agriculture helped him out by adding mechanization quotients to his primitive agriculture practices.
“The department provided me some modern tools, high yielding seeds, technical knowhow, financial assistance to buy inputs and a lot of attention through its field staff”, said Hans Raj with his eyes filled with gratitude. “The help from the department at various stages of cultivation increased my wheat harvest by twofold against that of past many years” he added
Similarly, Pritam Devi Pritam Devi, another resident of Panchayat Dambra-East, Block Mahanpur has become a proud owner of a Pucca house after the Rural Development Department found her eligible for the benefits under The Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana- Grameen (PMAY-G).
Pritam and her Husband were living in a Kacha house with three daughters and a physically challenged Son. “The government assured us to provide adequate financial assistance in three installments for building a pucca house. We have received two installments of Rs Fifty Thousand and Rs Forty Thousand so far. They told us that the third installment of additional Rs forty thousand will be provided soon. That I will use for furnishing and electric fitting works” she said adding with a smile “It will come after geo tagging of my House.”
When asked what other help they are getting, she quickly added that his physically challenged son is getting the pension under the pension scheme for Handicapped persons.
|
