Imphal, January 16 2009: THE KACHAI Lime festival sponsored by the state horticulture department kicked off today at Kachai village in Ukhrul district with Lok Sabha MP, Mani Cheranamei as chief guest.

The two day festival is the fifth of its kinds held at the village which is famous for the production of the lime in the state.

The farmers taking part in the lime fair lamented that except the holding of the festival, government and authority neglected them in every field of development of the village located some 42 kilometer on the south eastern side from Ukhrul district headquarter.

They said while a villager travels up to Ukhrul district, he spends Rs 100 in such a short distance due to the bad road communication.

In such condition how a farmer could reach Imphal with the lime they produce from their farms, they asked.

The money return from selling lime after transportation to Ukhrul also could not meet the expenditure incurred in reaching the product there, the further said.

So they used to sell their produces to the businessmen coming there at a low price.

So most of the farmers replace the cultivation of lime in the area, they said.

The villagers have been pressing the state government to improve the road condition from Ukhrul to the village but government authorities are remaining mute without hearing the grievances of the people.

Speaking as chief guest MP Mani Cheranamei asked the people in the hills to stop practices of jhum cultivation stating that it amount to causing imbalances to the environment and appealed to replace it by other which give less impact to the ecological balance.

He also expressed willingness to take up welfare schemes for the lime farmers of the area by the state horticulture department and encourage them to develop the lime farming.

Cheranamei also criticized the people in the valley area for trying to suppress the hill people.

He said that people in the valley tried not to make development in the hill areas citing that nationalized banks which can provides loan to the farmers are not opening in Ukhrul and Tamenglong district but in Imphal there is a nationalized bank in every kilometer distance.

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