Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Friday, said that the state government has completed the process to provide financial assistance worth Rs 39.55 crore to the families of 789 farmers “who had attained martyrdom during the protest against the farm laws”.

The CM said the families of the “martyred farmers” have been given Rs 5 lakh each by the state government as financial assistance. 89 families have received financial assistance worth Rs 4.60 crore in Mansa, 21 families of Tarn Taran have got Rs 1.05 crore, 117 families of Sangrur have got Rs 5.85 crore and  69 families of Moga have received Rs 3.45 crore.

He said  10 families of Fazilka have got Rs 50 lakh, 48 of Ludhiana have got Rs 2.37 crore, 43 of Barnala have received Rs 2.15 crore, 111 of Patiala got Rs 5.55 crore, 19 of Amritsar have got Rs 95 lakh, seven of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar have got Rs 35 lakh, 10 of SAS Nagar have got Rs 50 lakh and 83 families of Bathinda have got Rs 4.15 crore.

The chief minister said the government has provided Rs 1.73 crore as financial assistance to 35 families in Sri Muktsar Sahib, Rs 1 crore to 20 families in Gurdaspur, Rs 1.20 Crore to 24 families in Fatehgarh Sahib, Rs 60 lakh to 12 families in Jalandhar, Rs 75 lakh to 15 families in Ferozepur, Rs 50 lakh to 10 families Hoshiarpur, Rs Five lakh to one family in Kapurthala, Rs 20 lakh to four families in Malerkotla, Rs 1.50 Crore to 30 families in Faridkot and Rs 55 lakh to 11 families in Rupnagar.

He asserted that the state government is duty-bound to safeguard the interests of the farmers and their families. He unequivocally said that every promise made with the food growers of the state will be fulfilled.

The CM said the state government will bail out the farmers of the state from the current agrarian crisis. He said that the state government has already introduced an alternative crop in the form of Moong (Green Gram), the purchase of which is being done on MSP.

Mann further said that the state government has also given financial assistance to the farmers opting for direct sowing of rice.