"DARKNESS OF VIDARBHA " Times of India exposes truth

*-Why the light has gone out of our lives

*-Politicos helpless in solving power problems

*-‘Politicians are the culprits’

*-MSEDCL favouring Pen

*-Vidarbhaty erupts over power woes

"DARKNESS OF VIDARBHA " Times of India exposes truth

1-Why the light has gone out of our lives

12 May 2009, 0437 hrs IST, Alok Tiwari, TNN

If the last month’s general elections were instructive in any manner it was to show up the apathy and shocking lack of self-respect among the

Vidarbha electorate. Consider Nagpur and Amravati, the two biggest towns of Vidarbha, the only two that are home to general universities. Both towns were put down in a most humiliating manner by state-run power utility MSEDCL and power regulator Maharashtra Energy Regulatory Commission (MERC).

Both agencies tried every trick in the book to ensure that zero load-shedding plan put forth by Vidarbha Industries Association was scuttled. MSEDCL kept on submitting flawed papers to MERC that went through them with a fine-tooth comb. The result was power cuts continued unabated.

You would imagine the people would be seething with anger. You would expect the issue would singe the election campaign in at least these two towns. The electorate would be eager to punish the government that had so blatantly denied them their due. Well, was it so?

Power position barely figured as an issue. If at all it did, it was in questions put by the media to candidates who escaped with evasive answers. If you were not reading papers, you would never imagine there is anything like power shortage. It certainly did not show up in voting figures. Only 43 of every 100 Nagpur voters bothered to vote, returning the lowest percentage in years.

This is not only sad but also shocking. The pathetic power situation ought to be the No 1 political issue in the entire region. It is because Vidarbha produces 4,525 MW power, which is about 45% of all the power that Maharashtra produces.

12 May 2009, 0436 hrs IST, Ramu Bhagwat, TNN

All politicians in Vidarbha admit that the region, which generates more than half the electricity that Maharashtra consumes, gets a raw deal when

it comes to fulfilling its power needs. Still, these politicians are unable to get the government

to fulfil even the promises made on the floor of the legislature. Consequently, while Mumbai and western Maharashtra’s Pune and Pen get special treatment, Nagpur and Amravati are left to wallow in darkness and starved of development.

With state elections round the corner, the government has finally woken up to the fact that long hours of load-shedding, especially in the region’s rural areas, could be a huge setback. Just before the Lok Sabha election code of conduct came into force, Union energy minister finally laid the foundation stone for the Mouda power plant. But even his partymen agree that such symbolic actions will not help, and unless people get full relief from load-shedding they may express their ire in the state elections.

“Yes, there is a perception of discrimination,” admits textile minister Anees Ahmed. “My party colleague and minister of state for power Sunil Deshmukh took the initiative to make Nagpur and Amravati free of power cuts,” said Ahmed.

3.‘Politicians are the culprits’

12 May 2009, 0436 hrs IST, Proshun Chakraborty, TNN

An independent observer may blame the lack of activism among common people for the neglect that Vidarbha suffers. However, for the people, at

least educated ones, the politician is the one to blame for the sorry power situation.

They claimed that the situation was so bad because the political leaders in the region were so spineless. Dr Anup Marar, director of Orange City Hospital

and Research Institute, asked if Vidarbha was generating so much power, why should it suffer load-shedding. “In fact we pay more for energy than even Pune or Mumbai which face no load-shedding,” he said.

Dr Marar pointed out that Chhattisgarh was very backward when it was part of Madhya Pradesh. However, when it separated, it started prospering. “Now, Chhattisgarh is generating revenue by selling surplus power to other states. In the past, Maharashtra was power surplus, however, due to mismanagement and poor vision of authorities, the now there is shortage. Due to lethargic attitude of the leaders of Vidarbha, essential supplies like water and power would soon become luxuries,” he said.

Sharad Verma, Chief Operating Officer, Indo Rama Synthetics (I) Ltd., said that wrong priorities of the state government were responsible for power mess. Despite the fact that the Vidarbha had plenty of power generation, it was being supplied to western Maharashtra leaving Vidarbha in the dark. The load-shedding had also hit the industrialisation of the region very badly, he added.

PKB Chakraborty, retired director general of police, called it one of the greatest injustices towards Vidarbha. In fact, it was a clear case of bias, as the government had made many parts like Pune and New Mumbai load-shedding free. He also ridiculed the government’s decision to set up power generation unit in Nandurbar, where necessities like coal or road facilities were not available.

S M Joshi, director of Modern School said this was bound to happen when leaders of Vidarbha region were so spineless.

4.6-24x7 power for Pen @ 18 paise per unit surcharge

30 Apr 2009, 0516 hrs IST, Ashish Roy, TNN

NAGPUR: Even as the whole state reels under prolonged power cuts, the people from power minister Sunil Tatkare's assembly constituency and nearby

areas are going to get complete relief from the problem by paying a pittance. MSEDCL has finalised a petition that proposes to make urban and semi-urban areas of Pen MSEDCL circle free from load shedding by levying a surcharge of only 18 paise per unit.

If the proposal is ayed by Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), then a person consuming 1000 units per month, that is using three to four air-conditioners, will have to pay only Rs 180 monthly surcharge to enjoy uninterrupted power supply. Not even the cheapest inverter can provide this facility at such low cost.

The low surcharge has been calculated by levying surcharge on big industries in Pen circle. Strangely, these industries do not suffer from any power cuts but MSEDCL still proposes to levy surcharge for power that they will not consume.

MSEDCL has used similar approach to make Pune, Baramati, Thane and Vashi load shedding free. However, in all these cities the surcharge is 40 paise per unit or more due to lesser number of big industries.

Pen circle has 96.3 MW load in urban and semi-urban areas and 35 MW load of industries having one weekly load shedding day. On the other hand industries and other installations enjoying 24x7 power supply is 540 MW.

While MSEDCL is purchasing power to do away with load shedding for 96.3 MW urban and semi-urban load and 35 MW industrial load, it proposes to levy surcharge on 669 MW including big industries.

Apparently, (MERC) does not have any problem with MSEDCL's robbing Peter to pay Paul policy.

The technical validation session for the petition was held on February 26 along with those for Nagpur and Amravati. While MERC raised several queries regarding petitions for Nagpur and Amravati, it had few queries regarding Pen. As a result MSEDCL was able to finalise the petition on March 2. It had to wait till April end because of election code of conduct.

Meanwhile, Vidarbha Industries Association's (VIA) R B Goenka said that he had sought all the details of the petition filed by MSEDCL for Pen. "VIA is strongly going to oppose such a discrimination."

Goenka further said that he would file a review petition regarding the final zero load shedding order issued by MERC for Vashi and Thane.

5.MSEDCL favouring Pen: Goenka

20 May 2009, 0410 hrs IST, Ashish Roy, TNN

NAGPUR: Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA) has raised strong objections against MSEDCL’s petition to make Pen circle free of load shedding. In

its submission sent to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), VIA has claimed that calculations done by MSEDCL are erroneous and if the petition is allowed then it would lead to usage of power meant for the entire state for Pen circle and consumers all over the state would pay for it.

VIA has urged MERC to direct MSEDCL to submit a fresh petition after submitting the data sought by it and considering the objections raised. Incidentally, the assembly constituency of power minister Sunil Tatkare comes under Pen circle.

RB Goenka of VIA said that MSEDCL has claimed that it would require only 28 MW for 12 hours every day to make the circle load shedding free. “This figure has been arrived on the basis of erroneous calculations,” he said.

Goenka claimed that if the formula that was applied by MERC in case of Nagpur and Amravati is used then MSEDCL would require 59 MW for six days and 94 MW during industrial load shedding.

MSEDCL had calculated the distribution losses in Pen circle as 5.33%. However, this figure had been arrived by considering the load of big industries that do not face even a single minute load shedding. The load of such industries is 540 MW. “The distribution loss in the areas that face load shedding is 26% as per VIA while MSEDCL has not provided any separate figure,” Goenka said.

The VIA office-bearer said that MSEDCL by reducing the distribution loss had artificially brought down the surcharge to be paid by consumers of Pen circle.

The rate of realisation in Pen circle has been calculated without excluding the big industries for which extra power was not being purchased. “Thus the rate of realisation has been artificially increased to bring down the surcharge,” he charged.

The VIA has urged MERC to direct MSEDCL to provide revenue figures of only the urban areas that it planned to make free from power cuts

6.City erupts over power woes

13 May 2009, 0624 hrs IST, Proshun Chakraborty, TNN

NAGPUR: The city reacted with anger over TOI’s ‘Dark Times’ reports that appeared on Tuesday. Vidarbha’s power woes and the powerlessness of the

politicians and the general public of the region was met with a strong and vociferous reaction from across the social spectrum.

Medical experts, social activists, representatives of various trade bodies, professionals etc were in no uncertain terms unanimous about the lackadaisical role of people’s representatives for the present mess. At the same time, some also pointed to the general laid-back attitude of the citizens.

Or, as national president of Indian Medical Association Dr Ashok Adhao explained, “There’s a general lack of awareness on part of the people of Vidarbha to make their voices heard and, in turn, it allows the politicians from western Maharashtra to feast on Vidarbha’s helplessness.”

At a time when unabated farmers’ suicide blemished Vidarbha’s image, lack of power has only driven them to suffer even more. Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti president Kishore Tiwari said that power starvation was leading the region nowhere. “Not only has industrialisation been adversely affected, power crunch has hit the irrigation projects very hard,” he said.

While there is a view that holds the MERC and MSEDCL responsible for discriminatory treatment and not finalising the proposal of zero load-shedding for Nagpur and Amravati, activist Satish Khare said it would be a bit hasty to blame MERC “which is just a regulatory body”. “The fact is that the zero load-shedding proposal is not finalised due to total incompetency persisting at MSEDCL,” he said.

Madhukar Kukde, office-bearer of Maharashtra Litigation Forum, and Sunil Dudhalwar, president of Nag-Vidarbha Builder Association, had different views. They feel that load-shedding in Vidarbha was similar to other parts in the state. “In Pune too people suffer power cuts but on a lesser scale due to captive power generation,” Kukde said. in the city,” said Kukde.

Wholesale Grain and Seeds Merchants Association general secretary Pratap Motwani spoke about the general apathy on part of the politicians to redressing the poor power scenario. “The prevailing power crisis has badly hit Vidarbha’s overall development as many industries have started shifting their units to other states,” he said. “Given the poor power situation, it remains to be seen if the ambitious Mihan and SEZ would give Vidarbha a facelift.”

===============================================================

Did loan waiver work for UPA in Vidarbha-NDTV reports

Did loan waiver work for UPA in Vidarbha
http://www.ndtv.com/news/elections/loan_waiver_did_it_work.php

Tuesday May 19, 2009, Vidharba


In Vidarbha, which records the highest farmers suicides in India, the Congress campaign was all about the UPA's farm loan waiver.

On April 1, 2009, Congress General Secretary, Rahul Gandhi had said: It was because of Vidarbha that we extended the farm loan waiver.

It's in this cotton belt that the Congress-NCP made dramatic gains in this election, raising its tally from one seat to five.

Yet all the seats Congress NCP won are in eastern Vidarbha. It has not won a single seat in western Vidarbha, worst hit by farmers' suicides.

While Congress-NCP won in Nagpur, Ramtek Wardha, Gadchiroli-Chimur, Gondia-Bhandara, the Sena-BJP took its sweep in Akola, Amravati, Yavatmal-Washim and Buldhana.

Critics say the lion's share of the loan waiver was cornered by prosperous western Maharashtra; Vidarbha got a trickle. And to bring real change, the government will have tackle hard issues: like prices.

"The major difficulties for the farmers like markets, prices and credit have not been solved. So the farmers are unhappy. The major issues have not been addressed and so the rejection has come. And this will continue," said Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti.

Without the waiver, the Congress could have done a lot worse. But it is clear that it still needs to do a lot more.

vidarbha farmers reject congress-UPA in national poll-2009-HindustanTimes

Sunday, May 17, 2009

vidarbha farmers reject congress-UPA in national poll-2009-HindustanTimes

(this article on HindustanTimes ePaper, please find it at: 'Congress-NCP lose to BJP in Vidarbha

VJAS PRESS RELEASE-

The prevailing unrest and anger over apathy of UPA Govt. over farm suicides of cotton farmers of vidarbha has been reflected very badly against all UPA front as they lost all seats in west vidarbha (Washim-Yavatmal,Akola.Buldhana,Amaravati) in national election-2009 where as all seats east vidarbha(Nagpur,Wardha,Ramtek,Bhandara,Gondia) barring on chandrapur loksabha seat as it has two assembly segments of yavatmal has gone to UPA .

‘this shows that relief packages are not giving any relief to dying vidarbha cotton farmers and cotton farmers till very unhappy with present policies of UPA and local maharashtra Govt. Hence VJAS has urged UPA chief smt.sonia Gandhi to look in to hardship of west vidarbha cotton farmers in order to save Maharashtra state Govt.’ kishore tiwari informed in press note today while reacting over results of national election-2009.

“the result has made local Govt. claim that west vidarbha cotton farmers are happy ridiculous as their performance has not been improved in suicide belt of vidarbha more over it has shown it’s effect in adjoining hingoli,parbhani,jalgoan,dhule and beed parliamentary seats where most of farmers are cotton growers” tiwari added.

In last five years more than 5340 cotton farmers committed suicides due to debt and crop failure and now it’s clear that relief announced for them has not reached to dying farmers now VJAS demands that UPA should come our with long term plan to save dying cotton farming community providing economic protection to cotton from international recession and restoring rural socio-economic system with proper food security, employment and health care .it’s time for UPA to adderss core issue of poverty hunger of west vidarbha,tiwari said

Maharashtra human right panel asked Govt. to implemenent jadhav report,s recommendation for distressed vidarbha farmers

NAGPUR: The state government may undertake yet another massive door-to-door survey of the over 18 lakh farmer families in the six distressed
districts of Vidarbha hit by the farmer suicide crisis.

This decision was communicated by the government to the state human rights commission last week. The commission headed by former chief justice Kshitij Vyas was told about the decision following a directive issued by the commission to the state government to implement the Narendra Jadhav report.

The human rights body of the state , while hearing a pending petition filed by Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, expressed surprise that the Jadhav report which the government had accepted over six months ago was yet to be implemented.

Jadhav had recommended urgent measures like food security, quality healthcare, better educational facilities and a regulator for monitoring farm credit flow to the six distressed districts. The special relief packages had been announced by the prime minister in 2006 for these districts, and the state government has done little to rescue farmers from economic distress.

Strangely, the state has sought some time claiming that it would conduct a fresh survey of beneficiaries of the relief schemes. The earlier and first of its kind of door-to-door survey was conducted in April-May 2006 under the leadership of the then Amravati divisional commissioner Sudhir Kumar Goyal. Widely hailed for the disturbing data it brought to fore, the survey had identified around four lakh farmers living under serious financial stress, on the verge of desperation and needing urgent relief. It was a massive exercise involving the huge state government machinery.

The fact that another survey will be conducted is nothing but buying time, alleged Tiwari.

Our food will be made toxic and our seeds contaminated for all time if GM food crops are approved for commercial planting

Monday, May 4, 2009

Our food will be made toxic and our seeds contaminated for all time if GM food crops are approved for commercial planting

please circulate this discussion widely.

-----------------

I'm very happy to see that Kishore Tiwari has written to the Supreme Court about its astonishing comment on balancing the myth of high yields against "side-effects" These side-effects are more properly, the science of the serious hazards intrinsic to the technology of genetic engineering and pesticidal crops which is what GM crops are.

There are some plain facts that need to be known by our people and our farmers. Kishore has the hard experience, which he has written about, on the facts surrounding Bt cotton and farmer suicides in India, particularly in Vidharbha. I have also written to the Times of India (reproduced at the end of this email. I don't think their editors will publish my critical 'rejoinder').

Our food will be made toxic and our seeds contaminated for all time if GM food crops are approved for commercial planting

You can't strike a balance between toxic food, a major threat to India's biodiversity, which also means the environment that sustains Indian farming on the one hand and any advantage (to the poor) that the SC sees that it should weigh in the balance, even assuming there were some merit to the SC's observation that GM crops will help the poor because they are high yielding crops. I also address this myth below.

If a food is toxic, then it will cause illness: food that causes people to get sick can no longer be classified as food. It is POISON. Also the kind of illnesses that GM foods will likely cause, as studies by independent scientists are increasingly showing, will be long term, like cancers and they will not be attributed to genetic engineering because in India at least, we do not have the ability or the will to track these foods and monitor their impacts. These kinds of studies, which only governments can do at the macro level at which they are required, are called epidemiological studies. Of course, the further point is, that it is precisely the poor who will suffer intensely because they have no access to medical aid of anything approaching 'enough'. 1 billion people will be exposed to GM food crops if the government has its way. As Dr Judy carman says,

"If only 1 in 1,000 of exposed people later gets ill, or has an underlying illness made worse, then over one million Indians would be ill and requiring treatment. This would result in a huge cost to the Indian government and community" (Carman).

It will also be a social cost and health scam of an unimaginable magnitude that will make 'chicken-feed' of every other scam in the country including the Satyam scandal and it will continue without any possibility of reversal. A trade off of any kind is unimaginable.

The GM MYTH of High Intrinsic Yields

The plain science is and there is NO AMBIGUITY, that GM crops do not carry any TRAITS for INCREASED YIELDS. The traits for increased yields belong to the parental lines that are used for making transgenics QED. Doug Gurian Sherman of the UCS (union of Concerned Scientists) says this:

"No currently available transgenic varieties enhance the intrinsic yield of any crops. The intrinsic yields of corn and soybeans did rise during the twentieth century, but not as a result of GE traits. Rather, they were due to successes in traditional breeding".

On the question of whether there are increased 'operational' yields because Bt is a pesticidal crop targeted at a particular cotton worm, then the jury is in. In China, in AP, in Gujarat, pest resistance is proven to have set in. Unless farmers spray more, yields are falling after an initial rise in the first 2- 3 years. We also have insect shifts in common with the Chinese experience, (the mealy bug in India ), which has led to huge crops failures in more than one State. In Vidharbha, a rain fed area, the inappropriate Govt. approval to sowing Bt cotton in this region in particular, has led to heart-breaking crops failure, devastation and suicides. The high input costs are attested to by Sainath, and the Mumbai High Court and the link to suicides confirmed.

The Government of India's stated concerns for the plight of farmers is exploded by P Sainath in numerous articles. The most telling feature of all is this (his May 1st article) and I quote:

"We had locked our farmers into the volatility of global cash crop prices, rigged and controlled by a handful of corporations. Add to this the obscene subsidies that the US and EU threw at their corporations and growers. In the US, subsidies made up two per cent of total farm income in 1974. By year 2000, they made up 47 per cent of total farm income. In item after item, US-EU subsidies destroyed millions of livelihoods, not just in India but across the world.

In India, we made no effort to raise duties to halt the dumping of highly subsidised US cotton on this country. Sharad Pawar was not in the least interested. Cotton was not his baby. The subsidized US cotton was grabbed by our textile magnates. They were getting it virtually free. No prizes for guessing what this did to the cotton price for Vidharbha farmers. Maharashtra’s suicides are perhaps unique. In that state, farmers have written suicide notes addressed to the prime minister and chief minister on the issue (while many experts ponder about why these people are taking their lives)"

There is one very important detail about the US cotton subsidy that Mr Sainath doesn't know about. The cotton is mainly GM.

Will Kishore please send one of those suicide notes to the media so this deep mystery of farmer suicides is cleared up once and for all. Please ask the leading papers to print. And Kishore, you should have sent it to the SC along with your letter to demonstrate the bonafides of our government.

Aruna R

-------------

Letter to the Ed. The Times of India, below:

Subject: Your News Item dated 1^st May ‘09

“Poverty More Dangerous than GM Side-effects: SC”

Sir,

I write to express my astonishment at the choice of headline on the outcome of yesterday’s SC hearing of the PIL where I am the lead Petitioner; that it passed the Times of India’s editorial screening.

I am not questioning the veracity of your report about the comment made by the Chief Justice (CJ) of the Supreme Court. But it was a comment and your paper has elevated that comment and instead given it the gravitas of a pronouncement of the Supreme Court Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India. I am therefore, questioning the objective of a national daily of importance suggesting to your reading public that such is indeed the benefit of GM crops (that GM crops will feed the poor with their high yields). Since GM crops are unquestionably a question of national security, (both food and critically India’s biodiversity) I’m constrained to say that it fell short of responsible reporting and is to the detriment of your reading public and the national interest.

This comment of the CJ has no basis in the deliberations and the evidence given to the Supreme Court in the four years since this case was filed. What the public need to know is that the factual scientific issue is that GM crops give no intrinsic yield gains. It is also a fact that we have record-breaking farmer suicides in the Country, levels never approximated in history. In the case of Vidharba these have been linked by the MUMBAI HIGH COURT through its amicus curiae, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences to the inappropriateness of GM crops in a rain-fed region and because of their high input costs. The latter is a point of relevance for farmers everywhere.

The most rudimentary research uncovers the fact that the ‘Industry’ led by Monsanto has contributed to the recent food crisis because of steep price rises sourced in the diversion of food crops to GM biofuel crops. Monsanto has also been docked for hounding farmers in Canada and the US in court cases for patent infringement when their farms were inadvertently contaminated by GM seeds and pollen from other farms. These are companies who exist to promote their bottom line, not feed the poor. Let’s be very clear about this, both as a reality on the ground for farmers and the poor and the science of the present state of GM technology, which does not provide yield gains.

I would be happy to submit an article to your paper detailing the dangers India faces with GM crops and asking the all important question:

Why in heaven’s name is our government prepared to risk the health of one billion Indians in perpetuity by forcing untested and & unsafe GM food onto our plates?

Aruna Rodrigues

(Lead Petitioner to the SC in a PIL

for a moratorium on GM crops pending comprehensive and transparent safety-testing in the national interest)

Saturday, May 2, 2009

VJAS urged Indian Supreme Court to know the fact that GM food is most dangerous to poor than food security

VJAS urged Indian Supreme Court to know the fact that GM food is most dangerous to poor than food security

Poverty more dangerous than GM side-effects: SC

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) farmers advocacy group apposing introduction of GM seeds in Indian after vidarbha reported more than 5000 cotton farmers suicides since June 2005 when Govt. allowed commercial trials of Bt.cotton seeds , has been shocked to see media report that the Supreme Court of India has observed that GM seeds could possibly be a means to eradicate hunger and poverty. Poverty is probably more dangerous than the side-effects of GM seeds but it is not true as per research reports it is internationally known fact that GM food has caused a series of health problems including adverse effects on growth, impaired immune system, and organ damage that can be carried over generations and the pertinent danger that inadequately tested GM could pose to consumer health, agriculture, environment, and even revenues earned from food exports.

some experts observed that “We will survive without GM (Genetically Modified) food but we will never be able to survive the change unleashed by the tide of modification that is called Genetic Engineering” hence in a letter to hon,ble chief justice of supreme court India VJAS president Kishore Tiwari has urged SC to go in to details of all aspects of unsafe GM food as any SC observation may lead to major health and ecological problem before the nation.

It is reported in Times of India dated 1 May 2009 that

I QUOTE

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday tried to strike a balance between the apprehended side-effects of genetically modified seeds and foodgrains and the high-incidence of hunger and poverty in India.

Hearing PILs seeking stringent regulatory mechanism and advanced testing for the toxicity of the genetically modified organisms (GMOs), a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices P Sathasivam and J M Panchal said the GM seeds capable of dramatically increasing productivity could be an answer to the hunger and poverty in India.

"There is intense competition between GM seed marketing agents. We are a little suspicious of the literature they put forth. GM seeds could possibly be a means to eradicate hunger and poverty. Poverty is probably more dangerous than the side-effects of GM seeds," the Bench said.

Countering the perception of the apex court, advocates Sanjay Parikh and Prashant Bhushan argued that when the country's regulatory regime was lax and there were no advanced laboratories to test the toxicity of the GMOs, open filed trials of such genetically modified seeds could result in an irreversible catastrophe.

They suggested intense reworking of the existing regulatory regime and setting up of a National Centre for Assessment of GMOs, as suggested by a member of the expert committee, Dr P M Bhargava.

The Bench asked the Centre to submit its response by the end of August regarding setting up of a separate the National Centre for Assessment of GMOs and also the need for constituting a separate expert committee to chalk out a comprehensive regulatory mechanism with regard to GMOs.

UNQUOTE

Vidarbha has been facing lot of heath problems after the field trials GM cotton seeds and

health and environmental impact studies conducted by expert NGOs has already reported major damages to rural life of west vidarbha including multiple issues of mealy bug’s wide spread in forest damaging lot of plants in total and fresh attacks of new viruses like chikungunia creating massive health problems in tribal part of vidarbha and much more health damage to rural masses hence introduction of GM food in vidarbha needs more stringent regulator to monitor ecological disorder due to toxicity of GM food as reported through out the world .

“Eradication of poverty and hunger is must in India but with introduction of GM food ,it should not eradicate all poor” kishor tiwari added in the letter.

.

Please release this pres note

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully, For VIDARBHA JAN ANDOLAN SAMlTI

KISHORE TIWARI

PRESIDENT

kishortiwari@gmail.com

contact-09422108846

Posted by VIDARBHA FARMER SUICIDE at 1:26 PM