The Bijanabri Agricultural Producers’ Organisation Trust (BAPOT) has demanded that the Pul-Bijanbari area be declared an agriculture belt so that they can avail of various government schemes and benefits for their agricultural produce.

According to the BAPOT, Bijanbari, around 25-km from here, has 23 gram panchayats, from which around 15 to 16 have famers numbering about 40,000.

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“Darjeeling is known for its tea gardens, tourism and timber, but there are many other things that are here, with a majority of the people engaged in agriculture in Bijanbari. After the recent 104-day strike, different organisations voiced for their problems in different sectors, but there was no one to do so in the agriculture sector, as it had no organization. We formed this trust for this, and our main demand if to declare our area agriculture belt,” Pritiraj Limbu, a trust member, said here on Tuesday.

According to him, the trust was formed on 28 December last year. The BAPOT maintained that Bijanbari farmers are engaged in the farming of squash, broom, large cardamom, pea, potato, ginger, tomato, while they also cultivate paddy.

“There are many schemes of the government for the farmers, but we are not benefiting from them, and we feel that these schemes can be availed of if the area is declared an agricultural belt. There are many other issues also, like farmers not getting good prices and there being no promotion and proper marketing of the produce,” said Sandip Limbu, the general secretary of the BAPOT.

He added that his organization has also submitted a memorandum to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Board of Administrators chairman Binoy Tamang regarding the same demand.

The BAPOT also maintained that the Ghoom-Bhanjyang to Lodhama, a road stretch of about 45-km should be handed over to the PWD for better maintenance. They claimed the bad shape of the road has taken a toll on the farmers who take their produce to town areas via the road.