Bharatpur- Bharatpur Metropolitan City has distributed tractors to the farmers. The tractors were provided with 50 percent grant in a bid to mechanize and modernize agriculture sector.Mayor Renu Dahal and Deputy Mayor Parbati Shah Thakuri handed over six tractors to the farmers at a programme here Monday. Out of 43 applications submitted by the firms, 13 were selected for this round. Mayor Dahal said Bharatpur Metropolitan City had prioritized agriculture for development.

The modernization of agriculture would help reduce cost in farming and encourage farmers for better produce, she said, adding that even the livestock farmers were being encouraged here.

Similarly, Deputy Mayor Thakuri hoped the distribution of agricultural tool would help boost production, thereby empowering farmers. At a time when the farmers were despair and youths ditching agriculture, the assistance would encourage them to retain agriculture with its commercialization.The price of each tractor is Rs 1.6 million. The tractors are provided in fifty percent grant, said Chief of Agriculture Division of the metropolis, Tejendra Poudel.