Vidarbha farmers, widows protested Obama's
Hiwara-Yavatmal- Nov 5, 2010
Cotton Farmers all over Vidarbha in eastern Maharashtra where farmers are in the grip of agrarian crisis staged candle-light protests on the eve of US President Barack Obama's visit seeking to draw his attention to the plight of agriculture sector in the region, an Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) press release said today .The main function was organized at village Hiwara in Zari Taluka where protest march demanding the ban on American killer seed ‘Bt.cotton’ and withdrawal of on going subsidies to American cotton farmers’ raised ,farm widows and distressed farmers gathered from surrounding villages raised slogans ‘Barack Obama Go Back’ . 
‘US President Barack Obama is our geust and we respect him and there is no intention to hurt his feeling as we want that the main reason behind mass genocide of cotton farmers in dying field of vidarbha should be their in the agriculture agenda as we understand it is not in the listed subjects .US prez. Should know that the 
Bebitai bais president of vidarbha farm widows association (VFWA) lighted a candle in prayer meeting in which hundreds farm widows and debt trapped farmers from all the affected villages in Vidarbha attended and prayer was offered to all 2,16,000 cotton farmers who committed suicide since 1999 after the introduction of WTO regime in India and memorandum for US President Barack Obama signed by dying farm widows handed over to farm activist and group of widows to who are trying to get the appointment during Obama's Mumbai visit till the requisite permission has not been given by administration due to security reason,Tiwari added.
Memorandum for US President Barack Obama it is said that the after permission was granted to commercially cultivate American Bt. Cotton, the lush green Vidarbha cotton fields became dying fields, claiming lives of more than 10,000 farmers -- who opted for this (Bt. Cotton) seed and the claims that Bt. Cotton brought genetic revolution in agriculture are a hoax and lead to distress for over three-fourths of farmers using it and an average of three suicides per day, release added.
‘while the whole country celebrating e Diwali today ,we are sitting on hunger fast and miournign deaths of our husbands so that this mass genocide is stopped and on going starvation and despair of vidarbha agrarian community is over’ Bharati Pawar who is likely to meet US prez. said today.
"Our aim is to inform Obama that Vidarbha cotton farmers'' mass genocide is the result of American policies to protect their cotton farmers and the claim that Bt Cotton has brought genetic revolution in agriculture is hoax when 80 per cent of three million cotton growers'' families are in deep distress and debt and one farmer commits suicide every eight hours and that American Cotton and Bt Cotton have ruined rural economy of cotton growing Vidarbha region as more than 10,000 cotton growers in Vidarbha, who opted for Bt cotton seed, committed suicide”
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