Poor Rains Claims five vidarbha farmers Suicides in 72 hours :Delayed monsoon damaged sowing in 10 lakhs hector

Poor Rains Claims five vidarbha farmers Suicides in 72 hours :Delayed monsoon damaged sowing in 10 lakhs hector

NAGPUR :Jul 3, 2011

Vidarbha agrarian crisis has once trigrred in to farm suicide spiral as five more debt trapped vidarbha farmers suicides reported in last 72 hours and names of illfated farmers are

1.Mahadev Tukaram Shamsundar of Rohi in Yavtmal

2.Subhash Kiran Kharode of Rouindala in Akola

3. Madhukar Zituji Choudhari of Kalmb in Yavatmal

4.Punjabrao Bhimrao Mudre of Umbarkhed in Amaravati

5.Jayta Kisan Todsam of Village Chikhaldoh in Yavatmal

taking toll to 431 in year 2011 as per crime dat record of state administration, Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti informed in press release today

Early good rain followed by weather forecast of very good monsoon has forced more than 3 million farmers mstly cotton farmers of vidarbha to do sowing that’s too of very costly Bt.cotton seed purchased from market at the premium has been disastrous has last dry spell has all most damaged the sawing in at least 10 Lakh hector and more and more damages are daily reported which is serious signal of getting agrarian crisis triggered as once again vidarbha cotton farmers mostly credit starved and are facing khariff season after getting very heavy losses due to very poor prices to cotton and soybean and pluses last year ,may result in more farm suicides if corrective steps and bailout packages are not given to these crisisprone farmer ,tiwari informed .

Now it is reported that poor rainfall even after onset of July has started sending panic signals among farming community all over Vidarbha. The situation is worst in the cotton-soyabean belt of western Vidarbha's Amravati division, where at least in three districts practically no sowing operation could be started because of poor monsoon activity.Even as top agriculture officials of Nagpur and Amravati division are hopeful that rains in the next couple of days could save the situation, farmers in some areas have already started counting their losses.Buldhana fares the worst with 61% deficient rains for the season followed by Washim (-37%) and Nagpur district (-33%) according to rainfall figures proffered by the regional Met office here. "But there is hope. A low pressure system is developing over the Bay of Bengal which could bring rains in the next couple of days to the region," a weather bureau official informed ."Farmers in Akola, Amravati and Buldhana are waiting for regular rains to arrive before they can start the sowing operation. Till now these districts have not got more than few drizzles which were no good enough to get going with sowing," said Suresh Ambulgekar, divisional joint director of agriculture of Amravati division to media today .

In Yavatmal and Washim districts where there were some good wet days initially, farmers hurried up and completed sowing in up to 80% of cultivable land," the official added. "Now the situation is getting a bit worrisome. If it does not rain well, like last year when good monsoon arrived only in July, farmers will become desperate," said Ambulgekar added.

.A silent farm suicide epidemic is speeding allover vidarbha , however, has gripped food-grain cultivators not just in Vidarbha but across central India’s rain-fed belt. This year, many of them have suffered huge losses despite a good crop, and despite the food inflation in the markets last year.

‘MPCC president and Maharashtra minister from cotton belt even cotton federation is demanding cotton MSP Rs.5000/- quintal as against central decision enhance it by Rs.300 as per CACP recommendation moreover NCP party partner in maharashtra Govt. is openly demanding lifting ban on cotton export as 5 million cotton farmers are in debt trap and now poor monsoon and delay rain has made life of these 5 million cotton afrmers more miserable hence urgent step to provide integrated relief package is msut in oder to save lives of theses dying farmers” Tiwari urged

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