Nepali Congress Demands Release of Two Farmers Detained in India

Kathmandu. Nepali Congress has demanded the government to immediately release two Nepali farmers who were arrested while going to India for chemical fertilizer and are currently in Indian jail.

Congress General Secretary Pradip Poudel, issuing a press release, drew the government's attention to take diplomatic and legal initiatives for the release of two farmers from Sarlaahi's Balara Municipality, Suresh Prasad Singh and Nagendra Prasad Singh.

When chemical fertilizer was not available in Nepal on time, they were arrested by Indian security forces while bringing 2 bags of Urea and DAP fertilizer from the border Indian market Sonbarsa out of compulsion. They have been in Dumra jail in Sitamarhi, Bihar for the past 20 days.

Congress has stated that it is unfortunate that farmers who went to get fertilizer for their own fields have been arrested and kept in jail for 20 days. "It is extremely ironic that fertilizer is in the warehouse and farmers are in jail," the statement said.

Congress has criticized the government, stating that farmers are directly bearing the brunt of weaknesses in fertilizer supply management, lack of planning, and administrative incompetence. The statement said, "By not being able to provide chemical fertilizer on time and in sufficient quantity, our farmer अन्नदाता have been forced to suffer hardship during the farming season for years."

Nepali Congress has urged not to consider the farmers as smugglers as they had gone to collect fertilizer for their own farming and not for any commercial gain. Congress has also requested the Indian government, keeping in mind the historical friendship between Nepal and India, the open border, and the intimate relationship at the public level, to release the arrested farmers and provide necessary legal facilitation.