Vidarbha farm widows and farmers support 15th Dec. Opposition called statewide ‘BANDH’
The announcement of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in parliament yester day that Govt. of India will not intervene to change cotton MSP for years 2011-12 and reports from close sources in Maharashtra DF Govt. that due on going financial crisis state is to dash the hope of 5 million farmers who are facing severe economical crisis due to massive crop failure who are demanding the bailout package and hike in MSP of cotton ,soybean and paddy now all vidarbha farmers will join the Bandh called SS-BJP in support of dying farmers on 15th December to ,Kishor Tiwari, president of Nagpur-based Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, (VJAS), activist group working for cotton farmer rights informed in a Press release today.
“The agrarian crisis in Vidarbha and Marathwada is too serious to neglect and attitude of centre Govt. and state administration is pushing the issue to very pathetic situation when state can give huge compensation to sugarcane growers and massive bailout package to textile industry, it is unfortunate that they have no money save 5 million dying cotton farmers region hundreds of farm widows and farmers state peaceful national highway blockade on N.H.6 and N.H.7 as our demands have been pushed by all parties and all minister and MLAs of the region now it is duty of Maharashtra to provide relief bail out that cotton MSP hike @ Rs.6000/- quintal and cash compensation @ Rs.20,000/- to the farmers who have suffered crop failure due severe climate change ” Tiwari added.
The suicide spiral of debt trapped vidarbha farmer who are deep grip of agrarian crisis since 2005 due successive crop failure and volatile market prices of cotton has added 11 more victims as these 11 farmers suicides cases surfaced in first 10days of December 2011 when they failed to get any relief from state due to technical hurdles created by state election which has administration to announce any relief to 5 million dying farmers of Maharashtra on the pretext of so called code of conduct enforced due on going local body election Maharashtra taking toll to 715 in year 2011.
‘we are demanding long term solution to agrarian crisis not any package which are mostly contractor driven and designed to rehabilitation of the ill managed politician runs cooperative banks. our farmers are working as salves for handful MNCs who are manufacturing Gm seed, fertilizer and pesticides and revival of own agriculture is must which is not being done ’ Tiwari said.
The vidarbha agrarian is result of wrong policies promoted by state and situation of cotton growers in west Vidarbha has worsened when ban of cotton export imposed last year and massive crop failure this year .
"There is a need for state government's intervention in this regard. The government should provide at least Rs 6,000 per quintal. The chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had promised that he would talk with the union government for better support price for the raw cotton. However, nothing has been done in this regard," Tiwari alleged.
Tiwari continued, "The government did not concede our demand of providing food security to desperate, distressed and marginal farmers even. The government needs to behave sensibly and responsibly to address farmers' woes and prevent the prevailing spate of suicide in the killing fields of Vidarbha." If the cotton growers do not get better price this season, the situation will assume drastic proportions, he cautioned.
