VJAS demands Rs. 2700 per quintal as price of cotton
By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: The Maharashtra Government’s decision to procure cotton under cotton monopoly scheme at the rate of minimum support price of Rs. 2060/- per quintal and limiting the government procurement to 15 per cent only of the total 35 million quintal expected production has triggered the incidents of farmers’ suicides from the Vidarbha region of the state.
Thus, farmers’ suicides are again on the rise with eight more poverty-stricken farmers ending their lives in the last 72 hours in the Vidarbha region. The spiral suicides of Vidarbha farmers which claimed eight more victims in last 72 hours were: Kisan Chavan of Shivani in Washim, Dharma Bhanarkar Pindakepar of Sakoli in Bhandara, Dattu Salam of Pahur, Narayan Mahhale of Asegoan & Bhujan Karkule of Takli (all three in Yavatmal district), Nitmala Rathode Manjari & Hiraman Kale of Hirulpurna (both in Amaravati district) and Vasanta Chavan Jalka in Buldhana district.
According to a Press release issued by Nagpur-based Kishor Tiwari, president of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, (VJAS), which is a farmers’ pressure group,
Maharashrtra’s Marketing Minister Harshwardhan Patil has announced that this year a record of more than 10 million acres of land is under cotton cultivation and out of which 80 per cent cotton is Bt. Cotton. This year the expected production would be around 35 million quintals of
cotton and Maharashtra Government has decided to buy only around 5 million i.e only 15 per cent of the total cotton production at the rate of minimum support price.
"This will give free hand for private traders to purchase cotton at throw away prices, thereby opening flood gate for farmers’ suicides", Tiwari said in the Press release.
Most of the recent victims had taken the drastic step because the local banks have refused to give them fresh loans as they were defaulters. Moreover, some of the farmers’ sowing were washed away in the current kharif season following incessant rains and they have no money for fresh sowing.
"The accumulated distress of region’s farmers is now at its worst," Tiwari pointed out.
Tiwari has urged the Prime Minister to intervene in this on-going crisis in order to put a full stop to the farmers suicides by granting their main demands of waiving off their loans, restoration of advance bonus in the cotton monopoly scheme that is Rs. 2700 and enhancement of guarantee price of raw cotton credit, along with food security and free health care.
According to Tiwari, after the introduction of most costly Bt. Cotton in the region last year and subsequent withdrawal of advance bonus under the monopoly scheme, the rural economy in Vidarbha collapsed.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh is expected to visit Maharashtra by the end of this month to review the implementation of the Central Government’s economic package of Rs. 3750 crores which was announced in July last
year.
Ironically, since the Prime Minister announced the economic package of Rs 3,750-crore, around 1,300 farmers in the region have killed themselves. The Maharashtra Government, however, claims that the rate of suicide due to agrarian reasons — crop failure and indebtedness — has reduced drastically since the implementation of the Prime Minister’ package.
Tiwari, however, disputed the Maharashtra Government’s claims and reiterated that package has not served any purpose to reduce the prevailing distress of the farmers. Despite the government’s so-called efforts, the plights of farmers in the affected districts have deteriorated. They are living in abject poverty facing hunger and health problems, he further added.
With the deaths of 8 more farmers, the toll has touched to 605 since January 2007 while 68 this month alone. The break-up of farmers’ suicides since January this year is as follows:
–
|
MONTH WISE SUICIDES
|
NUMBERS OF
FARMERS’ SUICIDES
|
DISTRICT WISE
FARMERS’ SUICIDE
|
NUMBERS OF
FARMERS’ SUICIDES
|
|
January
2007
|
70
|
YAVATMAL
|
150
|
|
February
2007
|
86
|
AMARAVATI
|
105
|
|
March 2007
|
82
|
AKOLA
|
74
|
|
April
2007
|
90
|
WASHIM
|
90
|
|
May
2007
|
79
|
BULDHANA
|
65
|
|
June
2007
|
68
|
WARDHA
|
49
|
|
July
2007
|
64
|
NAGPUR
|
13
|
|
August 2007
|
68
|
BHANDARA
|
21
|
|
|
|
CHANDRAPUR
|
22
|
|
|
|
GADCHIROLI
|
08
|
|
|
|
GONDIA
|
07
|
|
TOTAL
|
605
|
TOTAL
|
605
|
SOURCE-FARM SUICIDE REGISTER OF VJAS
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