Seri dept neither buys produces nor pays mulberry farmers under contract

By A Staff Reporter

IMPHAL | Oct 15

A Manipuri actor turned seri-culturist, complained that he and two other families who worked with him for two and a half years were not paid wages in a row by the sericulture department of the government of Manipur.

The actor who does not want to be identified said that he had been working for sericulture department for the past two and half years now, with an aim to give awareness about the benefits of sericulture and also to earn.

Talking to the IFP, he said that in 2015, he applied for sericulture farming after attending a training programme in sericulture. He took to the fields after getting 1000 mulberry plants from the department. He has his farm in Sawombung Wairi, Imphal East district.

His plantation grew to be the biggest and he said he was the No.1 in the state for best production, the actor claimed.

He even made a nursery of around two lakhs plantation. “The sericulture department used to come and check but never bought the products,” he accused.

“The two and a half years was a round of plantation of mulberry in bulks with good results, but the sericulture department neither bought our products nor paid our wages,” he said.

He pointed out that he is ready to expose further wrongdoings of the sericulture department.  He said he and other colleagues in the business have worked so hard to get to this phase, but the government has not acknowledged their work.