KBC’s Fame Vidarbha Farm Widow Aparna Malikar Untold Saga

KBC’s Fame Vidarbha Farm Widow Aparna Malikar Untold Saga

Varha-kawadha -28^th September 2011

Death of husband of vidarbha farm widow who is younger brother of deputy mayor of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Politically very close maharashtra home ministry Aaba Patil, due to distress and despair of successive crop failure and forceful debt recovery of bank can force farm widows to see her father and brother behind the bar and her removal from house before funeral of the diseased debt-trap farmer is untold saga of KBC’s fame Vidarbha Farm widow Aparna Malikar .

‘My husband Sanjay Malikar was cultivating the family owned land since 2001 (see anx.)and he was official cultivator of the land as official revenue record but all income was shared by other brothers Raghunath,Sunil and Raju who are staying at Nagpur but when agrarian crisis started 2005 and cotton economy collapse ,heavy losses in Agriculture change the happy days turned in to gloomy one when debt started mounting creating fresh default with banks(see anx.) and harassment from the family members that forced him to kill himself but tragedy which has not darken by future but he has stuck to parent very badly when Raghunath Malikar used his political contacts and turned case farmers suicide in to culpable homicide lodging the FIR against my father Arun tathe and brother Amol Tathe and me too and police booked offence against us and arrested my father and brother ,they were behind the bar for more than 45 days ,it was not enough for these brothers who forced to out of my house and locked house but decided to live there only occupy the house and land and started cultivating it but atrocities are till continued and my parents are going to court and am also fighting legal battle to get my right of land .after the struggle of survival now I have got the strength and confidence to restart the life hence I joined open university to complete my matriculation .before the help from mega star Abhitabh Bachachan it was helping hand from P.sainath Mumbai and Adv.Amita Joseph New Delhi who helped me start cultivation and education of two daughters now KBC has changed my life but I an scared of past experience and pray the god not repeat the same ’ Aparna Malikar said .

‘when hundreds of vidarbha farm widows shared their experience this is common problem and serious plights farm widows of early 30s as most of widows are denied the land right and blamed for the suicide of husband and forced to leave the house ,if they are fighting for their legal land right they subjected for the severe atrocities and life is made miserable and civil society is mare spectators is most of cases hence we are demanding the proper rehabilitation and protection to all farm widows who are facing the similar problem like me.KBC can focus problem one Aparna but what about thousand of Aparnas who are dying before the death ’Malikar added.

‘when BigB asked ,you are widow but till you are wearing ‘Mangalsutra’ ,my answer was to protect from society this is must ,he was shocked and touched but I was cool as this was simple question for me and for all widows who lost husband in early 30s as well. KBC has given the opportunity to civil society to respond to answer and we are victims of the decision of our father to select farmer as our life partner when we are told that India in last decade more than two lacs fourty thousand farmer killed themselves and vidarbha has been farm suicide capital of India ,I will request all parents not marry their beloved daughter to cotton farmer of vidarbha to avoid humiliation, gloom and despondency and jail too.’ Aparna urged.

‘The joy of being celebrity of KBC was short-lived when VJAS activist came to house in night and told me that Raghunath Malikar has claimed that his younger brother was not farmer and he was never debt-trapped asked me more over he also informed that I am widows too ,Activist asked me give all papers and bank notice copy too which I gave him, we are now very much scared as I don’t want any more police custody to father and brother and I want live peaceful life with two daughter even without KBC price money ’ Aparna Malikar urged media persons who made his life miserable after KBC news released .

Bt cotton crop washed away in vidarbha-DNA

Bt cotton crop washed away in vidarbha-DNA Reports

http://www.dnaindia.com/

Bt Cotton Crop washed away in Vidarbha-DNA

DNA / Yogesh Pawar / Sunday, September 25, 2011 8:00 IST

Step into the fields with your shoes on and you realise why it makes sense to walk barefoot like Rameshwar Golewar of Kolejhari in Kalam tehsil of Yavatmal district in Vidarbha's suicide country. Your foot slips till the ankle into the soggy clay-like field. "It has rained so much in the last week that my entire crop is ruined," points out Golewar as he looks around the wilting cotton crop on his 12 acre field.

The rains have brought a double whammy. Not only has the rain halted the flowering midway, but has also led to rampant growth of weeds. "If I employ labour to remove weeds, the cost is prohibitive, so I have decided to use weedicide instead. Even a drop of the strong chemical is enough to destroy whatever is left of the cotton. But what choice do I have?"

Farmers like him are caught in a bind even while agro MNCs with a nod from the government are laughing their way to the bank. Authorities first encouraged farmers in Vidarbha to opt for genetically modified Bt cotton, saying the yield will be huge. Despite initial resistance, aggressive campaigning by brand ambassadors like Nana Patekar saw many a farmer convert in the hope they would make a killing.

"With our native species, even if flowering failed due to excessive rain in the first half of the season, we would still manage at least some yield since the plants flower again. Bt cotton only flowers once and any failure means re-sowing the expensive Rs1,200-a-packet seeds," says Golewar's neighbour, Ambadas Rathod, who is also calculating his losses.

The blitzkrieg on high yield hadn't informed farmers of how high the cost of fertiliser would be or how pesticide-intensive this species is. "At Rs1,000 a kilo, I spent nearly Rs10,000 on fertiliser alone, and a further Rs12,000 per litre on 6-litre pesticide. Now all that money and my hard work has been washed away," says Rathod.

At the Yavatmal collectorate, a tehsil-wise report submitted to the district collector on rain in the past 24 hours tells a completely different story. The figures for Kalam say 0.00 mm rains. When told of the anomaly between the report and the ground reality, collector Shravan Hardikar has an explanation ready: "The hydrometers which gauge rain are located in the tehsil office. It is impossible to keep track of local instances of high precipitation."

None of the farmers can seek compensation for their losses until the local tehsildar and collector send a recommendation with a panchanama of the loss. Once the district administration shows on record that rains are normal, farmers are left high and dry with their rotting crop.

Attempts to involve collector Hardikar on this issue are met with resistance. "I go by figures in front of me. There may be claims of heavy rain, but statistics with me show that we have only got 84% of the total rainfall we get by this time of the year," he insists. "I have visited Yerat and Tipeshwar and the farm produce seems quite healthy. In fact, it looks like we are expecting a bountiful crop this season."

Even in instances when a panchanama was made, farmers got nothing. Both in Kolejhari and in Baarsa, 80 kms away, farmers are still awaiting compensation for losses in 2005-06. "We know that the funds arrived because compensation was given to farmers in villages with the right political contacts. But we are yet to see any money despite numerous costly reminder trips to the tehsil and collectorate office," says Namdeo Jindewar of Kolejhari.

Little wonder then that there is such despondence in the region, and Yavatmal continues to remain the capital of suicide country.

URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_bt-cotton-crop-washed-away-by-0-0mm-rainfall_1591239-all

Posted by VIDARBHA FARMER SUICIDE

Vidarbha Farmers out of the Bank, into the Money-Lender's Trap-DNA

Vidarbha Farmers out of the Bank, into the Money-Lender's Trap-DNA

http://www.dnaindia.com/

Out of the bank, into the money-lender's trap

DNA / Yogesh Pawar / Sunday, September 25, 2011 8:00 IST

"Will you come in now?" screams 50-year-old Tanhibai Kale of Ganeshpur village in Jhari Jhamni tehsil of Yavatmal, the heart of Vidarbha's suicide country. Lightening streaks across the darkened skies, followed by loud thunder. Her drenched nine-year-old grandson Nandu comes in from the downpour and tries to slink in but not before getting two slaps. "Next, you'll fall ill and we'll have to go looking for money to treat you," the matriarch scolds as he whimpers.

The crying seems to spark something. "Why don't we all die? Then all our problems will be over for good," she says angrily wiping her own tears.

It has been a week since her 53-year-old husband Jhabaram committed suicide by consuming pesticide. "He wouldn't sleep at night, and kept worrying about how we could raise money to repay the Rs1.5 lakh we had borrowed," she recounts.

The family ran into problems after rains ravaged their crop earlier this year. They re-sowed the fields, but the rains wouldn't let up and the second crop also began wilting. Jhabaram got anxious about raising money to repay his loan to the local Yavatmal co-operative bank. "He tried going to local money lenders but when they refused, he went to the field and drank pesticide…" her voice trails off. The anger comes back. "This boy (pointing to her 27-year-old epileptic son Sachin) is useless. All he's done is produce a child (Nandu). And this girl (pointing to her 19-year-old daughter Suvarna, a XII-std failure) is a lodestone around our necks. No boy will marry her without a sizeable dowry, and where do we get money for that from?"

To make matters worse, the local talati (village officer) Suresh Dhavale wants a bribe of Rs10,000 to recommend them for the state government relief of Rs1 lakh given to families of farmers who commit suicide due to agri-debt.

In village after village, we encounter the same story: Of dead farmers whose bereaved families are being made to run from pillar to post to get even basic compensation. Figures at the Yavatmal Collectorate show that since 2001, there have been 2,184 farmer suicides. Of these, only 648 have got the Rs1 lakh compensation. "Look, the rules were not made by me. These guidelines and criteria have come from the Central government and we have to go by them," says Yavtamal Collector Shravan Hardikar.

Fifty kilometres away at Hevra Barsa village, we meet Balwant Namdeo Devalwar, 40, who's caught in a debt spiral. After crop failures in 2005, he didn't have enough money for seeds the next year, and borrowed Rs60,000 from the Central Bank. As luck would have it, excessive rain was followed by poor rain in 2006 and his crop failed again, leading him to default on his debt. "The debt kept mounting and I would run out the back door whenever I heard the officials coming to make enquiries," he says.

This carried on till the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDRS) launched by UPA-I in 2008 assured him of a 25% waiver. The scheme allows only farmers who own less than 5 acres a complete waiver. Since he owns 17 acres, he couldn't benefit.

These criteria have often been criticised but the government refuses to change them. "In Western Maharashtra, a farmer who owns five acres can own two cars and a tractor, and is well-off. Here in Vidarbha, even a 20-acre farm owner is living hand to mouth," points out Mohan Jadhav of the farmers' advocacy group Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti.

A National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) survey earlier this year found that despite the Rs65,318.33 crore already doled out to farmers under the ADWDRS, nearly 43.42 million (48.6%) of the 89.35 million farmer households in India are still indebted. According to the survey, the figures for Maharashtra stand at 54.8%, despite the ADWDRS.

Devalwar borrowed from a local money lender and sold off his bullocks for Rs35,000 so that he could repay the outstanding amount of his loan and apply afresh. "I got Rs95,000 from the Central Bank in August last year. I've now been hiring bullocks at Rs500 a day for my field and successive crop-failure means I am in default with the both the bank and the money lender."

Despite their reputation, money lenders find many takers. Devalwar explains: "The bank keeps making you go back and forth 20-25 times and yet there is no guarantee you will get the loan in time. A few farmers who applied in early April are getting the loans only now, in September, when the kharif season is over. Though we know how ruthless money lenders are, we are left with no choice."

Collector Hardikar says he had a meeting with the banking heads in the district and told them to process farm loan applications on priority. "The banks have distributed over Rs750 crore this year alone," he points out. But Hardikar cannot explain why poor farmers are left out. "This needs to be systemically addressed at the policy level," is all he offers.

Meanwhile, farmers in urgent need of compensation to repay the bank and the money lender find that the only way out of this debt trap is death.

URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_out-of-the-bank-into-the-money-lender-s-trap_1591237-all

Posted by VIDARBHA FARMER SUICIDE at 2:20 AM

From farm debts to KBC prize, a Vidarbha widow's story -By Mauli Buch- IANS

From farm debts to KBC prize, a Vidarbha widow's story

By Mauli Buch | IANS

http://in.news.yahoo.com/farm-debts-kbc-prize-vidarbha-widows-story-055807709.html

Mumbai, Sep 12 (IANS) Two years ago, her world collapsed when her husband of six years committed suicide. At 25, she was a widow, unable to bear the burden of loans he had accumulated as a farmer. With two children, she braced for a colourless life. But when all seemed bleak, a ray of light appeared - a television show.

'Kaun Banega Crorepati' (KBC), a programme that ignites hopes in the great middle class of making it big, gave her a call. And like the character of Jamal from Oscar winning movie 'Slumdog Millionaire', she too found herself on the hot seat facing the baritone of mega star and show host Amitabh Bachchan.

To feature on a special episode in the last week of September is Aparna Malikar, a 27-year-old woman from Vara-Kawatha in Yavatmal district, who won Rs.640,000 and a special help of Rs.50,000 from Bachchan himself.

'I cannot even say it was a dream come true. I never dreamt of such an event in my life,' Aparna told IANS.

For Aparna, who hardly stepped out of her village, it was an awe-inspiring three days in Mumbai. 'I had never been to Mumbai in my 27 years, never travelled in an aircraft nor stayed in a hotel,' she said.

'I was extremely nervous when I was in the aircraft and even more nervous while I stayed at a five-star hotel,' she added.

Stating that 'nervous' is not the word when she was in front of Bachchan, Aparna said: 'I would have to come up with a whole new word to describe the feeling.'

Aparna, a school dropout, said the questions were easy, but her anxiety kept her from remembering the answers. 'The questions were not so difficult. In fact, I knew answers to the questions I used lifelines for,' she said.

'But the set, the ambience, the extremely polite, yet high profile audience and Bachchan sa'ab himself made me very, very aware of the fact that I am in an entirely different world. This made me forget my answers,' she added.

Having won close to Rs.7 lakh, Aparna says she will first pay off her debt of Rs.60,000.

A mother of two daughters Rohini, 7, and Samruddhi, 3, Aparna wishes to put away some amount for their education and upbringing. 'I also want to get a concrete built house for myself as the one we stay in is weak and may collapse any time,' she said.

Accompanying Aparna for moral support was Manjusha Ambarwar, 18, who was introduced as a special guest of the show. Manjusha from the village Talang-Talki of Yavatmal district is the daughter of Ramdas Ambarwar, who was one of the first victims of the Vidarbha agrarian crisis and killed himself in 1999. Manjusha is now studying journalism in Nagpur University.

It was because of the efforts of Kishor Tiwari, a Nagpur-based social activist who works for the cause of farmers and farm widows, that Aparna and Manjusha got the strength to appear on the show.

'The KBC team came across several newspaper reports on the agrarian crisis of Vidarbha and made efforts to feature the region in their show,' Tiwari said.

Tiwari thanked Swapna Iyer, the co-producer of the special show, who took a tour of the region and did excellent ground work for the special episode.

'Bachchan has also promised to provide long term help to the crisis hit farmers of the region and is an addition to the list of celebrities who extended their support to the farmers,' Tiwari said.

The other celebrities include director Deepa Mehta, yesteryear actress Sharmila Tagore Magsaysay award winner P. Sainath and BJP leader Nitin Gadkari.

Bachchan, who was touched after he finished shooting the episode, wrote on his blog:

'I am afraid there is not much that can be said after my time spent among the 'bleeding hearts' on this wonderful programme.'

Bachchan was extremely touched by the fact that Aparna still wore her mangalsutra - the necklace worn by Indian women signifying her married status said Aparna.

'She still keeps her 'mangalsutra' on her neck because she fears harassment from other men, who trouble her with threats and envious motives. But she is resolved. She does not want to give up. She will fight her way through, she says, bring up her children, earn her living through the hard work on the fields,' he wrote.

In his blogpost, Bachchan said he did not have words to express his anguish and grief at this state. 'But there it was. Stark, brutal and honest,' he wrote.

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

Vidarbha farmers welcome central decision to lift all restriction on cotton exports next season

Nagpur Dated-10 September 2011

3 million cotton farmers of agrarian crisis hit farm suicide prone vidarbha has welcomed decision Indian Govt’s taken after inter-Ministerial consultations between the Finance, Commerce and Agriculture ministries to lift all kind of restrictions on cotton export under the Open General License (OGL) for the next crop season beginning October. India is the world's second largest cotton producer, Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti ,activist group fighting for right of cotton farmer of vidarbha region said in press release today .

“It was long pending to keep cotton export under the Open General Licence (OGL) and we are happy that for the next cotton season to continue with the OGL regime as per decision of inter-Ministerial consultations between the Finance, Commerce and Agriculture ministries in the last two days informed by Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar for next cotton season runs from October 2011 to September 2012’Tiwari added.

Against the estimated domestic consumption of 26.4 million bales, production is pegged at 35.5 million bales next season, against 32.5 million bales in the current season, leaving room for exports, according to the Cotton Advisory Board (CAB). In fact last year wrong policies of state regarding imposition of export restriction last year created instability in the market and the price of Rs 60,000 per candy (a unit of measure) to Rs 35,000 per candy in the global market and Indian cotton farmers were forced to offload cotton ahs half price prevailing in the international market and this the intentionally done to protect handful textile industries hence vidarbha cotton farmers were demanding cotton under open general license (OGL) scheme so that they can get global market prices. west vidarbha is main cotton growing region of India were farmers are committing suicides due to on going agrarian crisis and export under open general license (OGL) is one of relief to protect the dying cotton farmers community.

Bitter Seeds- Exposes Monsanto's Farmers Genocide in India

Bitter Seeds

Film Festival Reviews

By Peter Debruge

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117945978/

(A Teddy Bear Films and Independent Television Service (ITVS) production with funding from Corp. for Public Broadcasting. Executive producer, Sally Jo Fifer. Produced, directed, written by Micha X. Peled. With: Manjusha Amberwar, Ram Krishna Kopulnar, Vinayah Shaghai, Gyanandra Shukla, Madhau Shande, Kishor Tiwani, Vandana Shiva. (Hindi, English dialogue)

Rounding out his "Globalization Trilogy" with another affecting, character-driven portrait designed to indict corporate opportunism, Micha X. Peled exposes the issues underlying a rash of farmer suicides in "Bitter Seeds." Focusing on a small agrarian community in central India -- a country where a quarter million farmers have taken own their lives in the last 16 years -- Peled follows a hopeful young woman, Manjusha Amberwar, studying to be a journalist so she can help put a stop to the trend that claimed her father and now threatens her uncle. His emotional, gripping doc should sprout awareness in public-broadcasting and educational quarters.

Like a mellower, more narratively inclined version of activist helmer Robert Greenwald, Peled has previously taken on Wal-Mart ("Store Wars") and overseas sweatshops ("China Blue") by profiling the people most affected by mega-companies' profit-driven agendas. In "Bitter Seeds," he implicates U.S.-based biotech monolith Monsanto (makers of DDT and Agent Orange, per one of the pic's slides) in the Indian farmers' deaths, but does so through a story compelling enough to support a scripted drama.

Using Amberwar as his guide, to the extent that her amateur investigation becomes the film's primary focus, Peled puts a face on the victims of the industrial agriculture chain -- the independent farmers with no more than a few acres to their name, such as Amberwar's uncle, Ram Krishna Kopulnar.

Interviewing an older relative, Amberwar learns that conventional seeds have been phased out in her lifetime. Whereas past generations kept expenses to a minimum, using cow dung to fertilize their fields and saving seeds from year to year, today farmers buy genetically modified, non-renewable seeds in order to produce higher yields of pest-resistant crops. However, because these special seeds are sterile by design, farms must renew their supply each year in addition to buying expensive fertilizers and insecticides to protect the water-hungry plants.

Economically strapped farmers must take loans from the local banks -- or, in many cases, turn to high-interest private lenders -- putting up their land as collateral just to finance their annual cotton planting. If fate is unkind and drought or infestation strikes, it can spell ruin. Even in good years, this arrangement leaves little or no money for other expenses, including dowries that might boost daughters to a slightly better social standing. When things go wrong, many farmers drink pesticide in a symbolic gesture that points back to the root of their woes.

As a father with two girls, Kopulnar has it especially tough, and even though he never speaks of suicide, the look in his eyes suggests that can't be far from his mind. His eldest daughter Sawpna is just starting to entertain marriage offers, which raises the stakes for this year's crop, adding yet another character to the intimate family drama at the film's center.

The crisis depicted in "Bitter Seeds" is all the more dire when you consider that half the world's population are farmers. Peled could have turned his cameras virtually anywhere to find similar tragedy, from South America to the U.S. (where subsidies disproportionately benefit agribusiness giants and undercut foreign competitors) to any place that industrial agriculture has driven out the little guys.

One reason the tiny Indian community of Telung Takli makes sense is Amberwar -- a compelling central character whose personal story raises additional issues about gender, class and non-farming employment opportunities. No female from her village has ever pursued journalism as a career, and this subplot offers an encouraging case for education as one solution to the cycle (certainly more win-win than driving out Monsanto).

But her investigation has its limits, and Peled pushes the inquiry a giant stride further by interviewing scientists, activists and spokespeople for various seed companies. Tech credits are slick enough to support bigscreen play, especially gorgeous HD lensing by d.p. Devendra Golatkar that makes the Third World look first-class.

Camera (color, HD), Devendra Golatkar; editor, Leonard Feinstein; music, Frank Illman; sound, Kaamod Kharade; associate producer, Prachi Bari; assistant director, Shyam Dharmadhikari. Reviewed at Telluride Film Festival, Sept. 3, 2011. Running time: 88 MIN.

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

Land Bill will hit dryland farmers, says VJAS-TIMES OF INDIA

Printed from

Land Bill will hit dryland farmers, says VJAS

Ramu BhagwatRamu Bhagwat, TNN | Sep 8, 2011, 08.08AM IST
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/
Land-Bill-will-hit-dryland-farmers-says-VJAS/articleshow/9906573.cms

NAGPUR: Vidarbha Civil Society Collective and Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) have raised strong objections to provisions in the National Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill 2011 tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. They demanded that the Bill be redrafted to safeguard interests of the dryland farmers and other landowners.

"The Bill has ignored all suggestions made by the civil society and farmer advocacy groups. A month ago the rural development minister Jairam Ramesh had sought the suggestions from the people. It is clear from the final draft that the proposed law is nothing but a move to smoothen the process of transferring to corporates drylands of farmers in areas like Vidarbha," Kishore Tiwari of VJAS alleged.

He demanded that the Bill be scrapped and sent back to a parliamentary committee for redrafting to safeguard interests of dryland farmers and to ensure food security. This is essential as the Bill has included provisions for conditional acquisition of multi-crop land as well, Tiwari stressed. The Bill is against the fundamental rights of farmers in distressed regions like Vidarbha who are already reeling under huge debts and willing to selling off lands as government policies had made agriculture uneconomical, said Tiwari. If the law is implemented, farming community in Vidarbha will be eliminated, he added.

The Vidarbha Civil Society Collective, a grouping of a number of social and civil rights organizations held a public discussion on the issue last month after Jairam Ramesh sought suggestions on the draft Bill. The group then sent a letter to the Union minister listing its observations.

It was of the view that the Bill was against the preamble of Indian constitution. There was hardly any material difference from the draconian Land Acquisition Act of 1894 that it seeks to replace, the Collective opined. VCSC has also found that the Bill reduced the government to a 'service agent' of the multinationals and corporates. There is no clear demarcation about public and private purposes in the Bill, it said.

Nitin Chaudhary of Lokadhikar Manch said the Bill did not give space to women and youth to be part of decision-making rendering them vulnerable when their land is sold. The compensation offered is far less than the market value. Moreover, there is no mention of farm labourer who will be rendered jobless once agricultural land is acquired, he said.

VCSC has also demanded that instead of the district collector, the local panchayat and gram sabha should be empowered to deal with the land acquisition process from the beginning. It has sought an assurance that there would be no damage to environment because of large-scale land acquisition.

Posted by VIDARBHA FARMER SUICIDE at 8:26 PM

Land Acquisition Bill is against Farmers -VJAS

Land Acquisition Bill is against Farmers -VJAS

Nagpur-6th September 2011

Vidarbha farmers has strongly objected format of the politically sensitive and critical proposed land acquisition Bill, a little over a month after it was unveiled to the public by the ministry of rural development on 29 July and cleared by union cabinet on Monday while ignorning the all suggestion made by member civil societies and farmers advocacy group as it is step towards the smoothing the land acquisition for corporate in dry land farming area like vidarbha which will gradually illuminate the farming community at large ,the proposed bill has not giving any protect to dry land farmers and their livelihood thereinafter ,bill will effect very badly in the backward region of India where agrarian crisis has forced thousands of killed themselves and majority of farmers wants to quit the farming as it has huge loss making business mainly due wrong policies of state hence bill is against the dry land farmers which are 90% and most venerable to market exploitations due to debt trap . Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS) has asked parliament to scrap the proposed National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill and send back to cabinet for redrafting to safe guard the interest of dry land farmers and protection of cultivatable land for food security as ministry has even allowed conditional acquisition of multi-crop land as per suggestion of corporate that against fundamental right of farmers ,kishore tiwari of VJAS informed in press release today. .

‘Earlier the Vidarbha Civil Society members and activist Collective slammed the Rural Development Ministry saying that the newly drafted ‘Land Bill’ is against the preamble of the Indian Constitution. the preamble of the New Bill is against the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, and it is the same old Bill of 1894 with new decorative words. And further he questioned the perspective and framework of the Bill by saying that the bill would marketize land and rural development. He observed that the bill does not provide space for the local people to participate in decision making and it is imposing the LA on the people which is against the spirit of the constitution. there is no clear demarcation about public and private purposes in the bill, since all the public industries have been absorbed in the process of privatization. And this is attempt to increase the farmers to leave the farming and give land for corporate to so called lan market in India hence all law makers should reject draft which is against the Indian farmers’ Tiwari added. .

The new bill gives legitimate smoothing procedure Multinational Companies and in future Government will act only on the instruction of the MNCs, there should very clear and pratical plan of rehabilitation of farmers and complete impact of such acquisition on society and environment has been in ignored as it proposes cash incentive other than complete social security to the displaced masses .Issues of lives, land, livelihood and identity along with safety to forest land water body has been given low importance than the development of land market in the country which is against tribal and downtrodden backward agrarian community of dry land vidarbha hence parliament is being urged to reject the bill, tiwari asked.

Five more Farmers Suicide reported on arrival day of Lord Ganapati as ‘Vighnaharta’ failed to give Relief Dying Vidarbha Farmers

Five more Farmers Suicide reported on arrival day of Lord Ganapati as ‘Vighnaharta’ failed to give Relief Dying Vidarbha Farmers

Nagpur: Sep.2, 2011

Lord Ganapati is known Vighnaharta i.e. the troubleshooter god but failed to do so is gloomy vidarbha as whole nation was celebrating Ganesha arrival ,in agrarian crisis hit vidarbha five more distressed farmers killed themselves on ‘Ganesh chaturvedi’ ,as per Reports

1.Mohan Raut from Ghazipur in Yavatmal

2.Raju Tembhare from Sakur in Yavatmal

3.Sharavan Chichghate from Bhindi in Wardha

4.Vijay Gomase from Akoli in Wardha

5.Laxman Pathode from Dongargoan in Chnadrapur

Taking toll to 507 in the year 2011 , Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti ,activist group fighting for right of cotton farmer of vidarbha region and documenting vidarbha farm suicides since 1997 informed in press release today.

The 3 million cotton farmers of agrarian crisis hit vidarbha has been demanding Indian Govt. to immediate hike in MSP of cotton to Rs.6000 per quintal in order to stop on going cotton farmers suicides in the region as MSP declared CACP which @ Rs.3,300 per quintal is which neither in line with increase in cost of cultivation of cotton nor the set norms of MSP calculation of CACP hence urgent revision in cotton MSP is must, Kishore Tiwari added today.

Vidarbha cotton farmers has been asking centre two demands that Maharashtra State Co-operative Cotton Growers Federation passed as resolutions that hike in MSP to Rs 6000 per quintal and lifting of ban on cotton export by bringing it under open general license (OGL) scheme. In fact Maharashtra State Co-operative Cotton Growers Federation NP Hirani and MPCC president Manikrao Thakare also urged centre Govt. to raise MSP of cotton to Rs.6000 per quintal recently as farmer suicides in region has crossed 500 mark in year 2011 too, hence urgent solution to vidarbha agrarian crisis he must ,Tiwari said.

Distressed farmers are in economic crisis as they incurred in losses when indoan Govt. imposed export ban and now they are credit starved as not only bankers are not given them fresh crop loan they are finding very difficult to get handy loan from private money lenders too in adition to fund crisis worries releted to the cost of seeds, fertilizers and insecticide which has been increased manifold including Labour charges are Rs 200-300 per head and the MSP in 2007-08 to Rs 3000 per quintal, which was revised in 2010-11 to the extent of Rs 300 after a gap of four years that has added fuek to on going agrarian crisi which has restarted farm suicide spiral hence unjust and irrational wrong policies of state regarding imposition of export restriction last year created instability in the market and the price of Rs 60,000 per candy (a unit of measure) to Rs 35,000 per candy in the global market and Indian cotton farmers were forced to offload cotton their crop at half price prevailing in the international market and this was intentionally done to protect handful textile industries hence we support the demand of cotton federation brining cotton under open general license (OGL) scheme.

‘We demand hike in cotton MSP and procurement of state owned agency and urgent relief of food security, fresh crop loan disbursement and healthcare services in order to stop farm genocide in the region’ Tiwari urged.

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

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

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

=======