Farmers are having problems with selling their paddy stocks for a reasonable price especially in the Ampara and Mahaweli regions where farmers are being plundered by middlemen, UNP MP Gayantha Karunathilaka stated.

The government that promised to make the farmers kings in their time, has decided to spend the people’s money on luxury vehicles instead of concentrating it on securing a reasonable fixed price for their crops, he pointed out.

He said that the UNP requests the farming community of the North West, Central and Northern Provinces to be sensitive to the farmers elsewhere in the nation and deliver a clear message to the government on September 21.

UNP MP Nalin Bandara claimed that business in the North Western province was booming as a result of the election campaigns which included spending thousands of rupees on fuel for vehicles.

He said once the elections are over and the campaigners leave the people of the area will be reintroduced to reality.

Bandara stated that the youth of North West used to believe that it would be better to die than to live but now they believe that it would have been better to be born as a dog. He added that this was because while the youth cannot afford even Rs.5000 to get married, the government is sponsoring dog weddings and sending them to Nuwara-Eliya for their honeymoons.