By IANS
Lucknow : The opposition Congress party has blamed the Mayawati government for the death of a farmer in the poverty-ridden Bundelkhand region of southern Uttar Pradesh, insisting that it was a starvation death despite the administration’s denial.
Uttar Pradesh Congress unit president Rita Bahuguna Joshi has drawn the attention of the state government to the death last Saturday of Ram Achal, a 35-year-old farmer of Jogia village of Shravasti district.
“The government has flatly refused to accept it as a starvation death. But we have confirmed knowledge from local villagers that the deceased Ram Achal’s tiny land holding was submerged under the swirling waters of a diverted Rapti river following which he lost his basic source of livelihood,” Joshi said in a statement here Tuesday.
“Local villagers and our party representatives, who went to the spot, have confirmed that there was not a single a morsel of food in Ram Achal’s home at the time of his death,” she said.
“Sadly, the administration reacted only after he had died. The local tehsildar sent 50 kg of wheat and rice to his family,” Joshi said. She demanded compensation of Rs.500,000 from the Mayawati government for Ram Achal’s family.