Maharashtra Agrarian Crisis Deepen as Vidarbha reports Five Farmers suicides in last 72 hours

Maharashtra Agrarian Crisis Deepen as Vidarbha reports Five Farmers suicides in last 72 hours

Nagpur -31^st march 2013

When drought has hit more than 14 districts creating very acute shortage drinking water in more than 16,000  villages mostly western part Maharashtra but eastern part of Maharashtra which is in grip of farmer suicides has been badly hit severe crop failure and  Despondency, despair and accumulated actuate deep distress trigger as epidemic of farm suicides as five more ddebt trapped vidarbha farmers killed themselves in the midst of 'Holi Festival' in last 72 hours as per reports reaching late 

Recent victims of vidarbha agrarian crisis are

1.Thasu Rathode of village Bhansala in Yavatmal

2.Arun chiche  of village Gangadevi in Yavatmal

3.Kamalsingh saryavanshi of village Mankari in Akola

4.Rameshwar asalmot of village Khadaka in Akola

5.Dhudharam Turane of village Somnala in Bhandara

Taking the toll 112 in 2013 Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti(VJAS )informed in press release today

This is clear cut sign of severe agrarian crisis in the region  because of the fact that for kharif season 2012-13 area under cultivation of Bt.cotton is above 32 lakhs and untimely rain sudden climate change  in cotton cultivating  areas has damaged most of standing Bt.cotton crop and rise input cost and labour charges  has jumped the cultivation cost to double, but has been  reduced to 50% resulting more than Rs.4,000 crore huge financial losses to cotton growers, as farmers sold out most of cotton below MSP i.e. around Rs.3500/- per quintal and now cotton rates jumped to Rs.5500 per quintal. Even normal monsoon reported in vidarbha there is no drinking water in more than 2000 villages ,water level in dam and ground water level is worst than drought hit western Maharashtra and marathwada but both central and state Govt. has ignored the plight 3 million dying distressed farmers that will fuel farm suicide rates in near future  , Kishor Tiwari of VJAS  added.

‘The relief aid recently declared by central Govt. and state Govt. has not included agrarian crisis hit vidarbha more over  Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme MGREGA (NREGA) has not provided more than more than 20 maydays wages in rural sector of cotton belt of vidrabha , hence VJAS has asked central Govt. direct Rs.5000/- ‘Labor Wage Subsidy’ under MGREGA (NREGA) fund to agrarian crisis bound region, Tiwari said.

“We  have been demanding direct cash incentive to food crop cultivation in dry land farmers ,restoration food security ,health security and free professional education to the wards of distress cotton farmers and institutional credit to all debt trapped farmers but package over packages these basic  are not included hence agrarian crisis are getting worst day by day since 2005 hence vidrabha needs sustainable holistic solution to rural crisis not technology and free trade promoted by UPA and US base MNCs” Tiwari added.  

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