Rahul’s Kalavati Daughter among six victim Vidarbha Agrarian Crisis Reported in 48 Hours

Rahul’s Kalavati Daughter among six victim Vidarbha Agrarian Crisis Reported in 48 Hours

Nagpur -17^th October 2011

India Prince Rahul Gandhi’s poverty icon vidarbha farm widow Kalavati Bandurkar’s daughter among two farmers and wife of dry land cotton farmer along with her two small kids are suicides reported in the dying field of vidarbha which is reeling under severe agrarian crisis since 2005 claiming more than 8400 farmers suicides taking toll 634 in the year 2011 alone ,these are victims of on going distress and despair resulting in suicides mainly due to debt, poverty hunger and poor health care services in the most backward region of Maharashtra.

Along with kalavati’s daughter's delayed report of suicide ,vidarbha rocked with news of another debt trapped farmers wife of village Tivali in Washim district namely Ujwala Batkal aged 26 killed herself with her two kids Aarti-6 years and Ganesh -2years as per news reported by daily SAKAL an others are Rajaraddy Nalawar of digras in yavatmal and Ganesh Doiphode of village Shendurjanabazar in Amaravati .

“We have been demanding urgent relief of food security ,health care and proper counseling to these distress families who have been identified by state Govt. in 2006 after door to door survey in order to follow directives of high court Mumbai in the PIL of VJAS and even after 5 years of recommendations Maharashtra Govt. failed to provide requisite relief to one million identified distressed families who are dent trapped having acute health problem and facing starvation hence these are not suicide ,are genocide done by the state” Kishore Tiwari of cotton farmers’ advocacy group Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti-VJAS informed in press release today.

As per news reported in LOKMAT ,Nagpur recently Rahul Gandhi’s vidarbha farm widow Kalavati Bandurkar’s daughter Savita Divakar Khamankar of village Ralegoan in Bhadravati Tahsil in Chandrapur district committed suicides due to poverty and failed to get health care in prolongned serious illness in last week of September but reported on 15^th October .she is second number daughter of Kalavati and this is third blow to her after her husband Parshuram Bndurkar committed suicide in 2005 her son-in –law Sanjay Kalaskar who committed suicide last year due to huge debt and economic crisis .

‘After meeting Kalavati in 2009, Rahul Gandhi during his speech in the Lok Sabha spoke of her life and how she and her village suffered without electricity, and contended “poverty is directly connected to energy security” and one NGO declared aid of Rs.25 lakh as fix deposit to her and she is getting interest on FD but even this huge relief aid in isolation to one widows has not even reduced despair and distress of her family that reason we have been demanding integrated rehabilitation all 8000 vidarbha farm widows who lost bread earner in this agrarian crisis but Govt. is not responding that unfortunate ’ Tiwari added..

VJAS has strongly flays recent demand congress party senior Minister in Maharashtra Govt. Shivajirao Moghe that central Govt. should raise Minimum Support Price MSP of cotton to Rs.7000/- per quintal as against Rs.3,300 per quintal fixed by Central Govt. for cotton season 2011-12 to UPA convener Smt.Sonia Gandhi who he met yesterday along with delegation of MLAs of west vidarbha after Maharashtra cotton marketing federation chairman Dr.N.P.Hirani has officially urged central Govt. earlier to raise cotton MSP to Rs.6000/- per quintal but the ground reality is central Govt. has shown dustbin to both letters and distressed and debt trapped cotton farmers are forced to sale their cotton in throw away price and are committing suicides that’s most unfortunate ” Tiwari added.

‘If NCP wants cotton farmers should get MSP of Rs.6,000/- then they should part with centre and state Govt .on this issue and same is the case with MPCC President Manikrao Thakare and all Ministers/MLAs of vidarbha should resign from party to save dying cotton growers who are committing suicides due economic losses after the crop failure this year .the current situation in west vidarbha and part of maharashtra is too worst to describe as cotton crop in around 52 lakhs hector has been failed and cotton growers in the region are in deep economic crisis needs urgent bailout package hence Cong.-NCP should stop political war of cotton MSP issue and ask Govt. to start procurement of cotton through CCI or NAFED ar the MSP Rs.6000/- per quintal’ VJAS demanded.