Protecting cotton industry at the cost of farmer suicides unjust-Merinews

Protecting cotton industry at the cost of farmer suicides unjust-Merinews

Textiles industry should not use state run policies and restrictions to get cheaper cotton from the dying farmers. The new Textile Minister Anand Sharma, should look into the issues of cotton farmers

VIDARBHA COTTON farmers who are under deep distress and despair due to debt are forced to commit suicide - having already flayed the Indian government policies of protecting finger counting textiles mill owners to arrange raw cotton at throw away price to them by restricting the export of cotton bales even after there is record surplus 7 million cotton bales are available even after the 6.5 million quota permitted due to cotton production as the Indian government official figure is 33 million bales as against last year 29 million. But the government has allowed 8.4 million cotton bales last year, which is higher than 2 million bales than this year hence in era of free trade and globalization ,innocent victimization resulting mass genocide of poor cotton farmers should be stopped, said Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti.

"Textiles industry should not use state run policies and restrictions to get cheaper cotton from the dying farmers and attempts of textile ministry the revival of Tirupur" at cost lives of cotton farmers in unjust and violation of human rights hence we have ben demanding the detail probe in to unfair trade practices in the raw cotton trade of the India and wants lifting of all restriction of export and imposition heavy import duty of raw cotton bales to save Indian cotton farmers, ”Tiwari added.

It was the lifting of quantitative restrictions in 2004 for free cotton import by the NDA govenrment which allowed dumping of cheapest 20 million cotton bales resulting in economic recession and start of cotton farmers’ suicide spiral in vidarbha and now once again it has re-imposed in 2009 when the present UPA government introduced stringent cotton export both the time to protect the interest of handful textile mills owners who want cheaper raw cotton at cost of 1 billion dying cotton farmers and this is highly unfair trade practices protected and promoted by state hence vidarbha cotton farmers who have suffered maximum losses and reported more than 10000 farmers suicides after introduction of wrong policies of cotton export and import.

"New Textile Minister Anand Sharma should admit that cotton production has grown from a low of 225 lakhs bales to 330 lakhs bales in last 5 years the undue protection to Local textile mills benefiting of buying Indian cotton at prices which are at least lower by 30% as compared to its competitor in Bangladesh, Pakistan and other countries who buy from other growths which is reason behind the present restriction of cotton export and when Indian cotton after lot of hard work and promotion by exporters have found a very stable and regular market of its cotton in foreign countries and Govt. should ensure that the markets created are not lost to competition due to faulty Govt. policies to protect handful textile mill owners,”‘We need the urgent central intervention and demand to lift all export restriction of cotton bales and yarn too so that farmers get higher price to cotton," said Tiwari.