GUWAHATI, Sept 11 � The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has allotted a toll-free helpline number � 18003453753 � for the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) cell set up at Krishi Bhawan, Directorate of Agriculture, Khanapara, in order to facilitate the farming community to get KCC loan from different bank branches of the State as well as to redress the grievances of farmers.
The toll-free number will be in operation from 10 am to 5 pm on all working days, sources in the agriculture department told The Assam Tribune.
The new facility has been put in place in view of large-scale complaints from farmers about harassment by banks and middlemen in getting KCC loan. The agriculture department had simplified the KCC procedures, but the farmers were still complaining about harassment by banks and middlemen.
�The complaints lodged by farmers through the helpline number will be recorded as information and placed at the KCC�s high-level monitoring meeting. Action will then follow to redress the farmers� grievances,� sources said.
Till date a total of 15,86,687 KCCs have been issued to farmers in the State. During 2013-14, the number of cards issued was 38,306.
