Tribal Vidarbha Farm widows urge Mah. CM to visit flood effected starved families

Vidarbha Rain Havoc continued: Farm widows urge Mah. CM to visit starved families  

Nagpur-26^th July 2013  

Tribal Farm widows Kavita Santosh Sidam of village mangi  and Radha Anil Marape village Thanegoan  in yavatmal district where their husband committed suicide in this week due to crop damaged in heavy flood and rain fury  urged Mahrashtra chief minister Prthiviraj Chavan   who is on vidarbha tour to asses flood damages on 28-29 July to visit their homes to see ongoing starvation as in last 72 hours heavy rain added fuel as two farm labours  1.subhash Rathode of village Parjana and shriram mundale of village chikhaldara killed  themselves in yavatmal district due to poverty and hunger as last one month continuous rain there is no work for tribal farm labour resulting in starvation, Kishore Tiwari of vidarbha janandolan Samiti (VJAS)informed in press release today.

Earlier on Monday and Thursday Santosh Sidam of Mangi village and Anil Marape of Thanegoan village in Yavatmal district and Charan Rathode from village Parsoda in Amravati district ended their lives after watching their standing crop of cotton, soya and paddy submerge and rot but no official from administration visited ill fated families even after these farm suicides widely reported in media forcing these two farm widows  Kavita Santosh Sidam of village mangi  and Radha Anil Marape village Thanegoan  to request Maharashtra CM to visit their home and give healing touch who are innocent victims historic rain which has damaged crop  and ruined their life ,now more than million farm families are awaiting the relief aid but administration is awaiting CM visit and they are busy in report preparation tribal deptt. Failed disbursed FOOD LOAN under I.TD.P.   Popularly known as  khawati karz even after fund has been received and if CM is visiting these flood hit tribal area at least food aid will be possible ,Tiwari added.

The Maharashtra government, it will be recalled has steadfastly refused to declare a wet drought in Vidarbha, where the otherwise arid region has been lashed with very heavy rains right from June, leaving it flood-ravaged. The situation has been particularly bad in the east Vidarbha which has seen unprecedented heavy rainfall in the last 52 days. While maximum damage has been to cotton and soyabean crops, paddy, which requires lot of water, too is being damaged due to the incessant rain and farmers have been forced to sow thrice besides spending on expensive fertilizer and even if the rain stops now, the 5 million hectares on which standing crops have been damaged will not yield more than 50%. That alone works out to a cumulative loss of Rs 10,000 crores as vidarbha is receiving ten times the rain it get in a whole month in a day. The administration simply blames it on localised cloud-bursts but that is not bring any succor to the farmers ,there is urgent need to start relief operation ,tiwari urged.

Apart from Yavatmal, Wardha, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli too are reporting heavy crop damage. In fact officials at the Divisional commissioner's office admitted being baffled by reports of crops loss due to floods from the perennially drought-hit Buldhana as major dams in the region are over-flowing. "There are reports of thousands of cattle too dying," admitted an official who added, The respective collectorates in the districts will take a month to complete the survey and recommend compensation for the loss, it is reported.

The ground condition is too gloomy and prevailing distress and despair due heavy losses  in the region which is already at the epicenter of the country's worst agrarian crisis as more than 10 million people in rural Vidarbha are facing difficulty without food, electricity and healthcare. People are angry and want the government to act quickly and provide them relief, Tiwari said.

विदर्भातील १0 लाख हेक्टरमधील पिके बुडाली

विदर्भातील १0 लाख हेक्टरमधील पिके बुडाली

मागील २ जूनपासून सतत पडत असलेल्या पावसामुळे विदर्भात अती पाऊस व पुरामुळे अभूतपूर्व परिस्थिती निर्माण झाली आहे. संपूर्ण विदर्भातील १0 लाख हेक्टर खरीप पिके नष्ट झाली असून शेतकर्‍यांना कमीतकमी २0 हजार कोटींचा फटका बसला आहे, तर उर्वरित २५ लाख हेक्टर मधील कापूस, सोयाबीन व धानाचे पीक नापिकीग्रस्त झाले आहे. सतत होत असलेल्या पावसामुळे ही पिकेही डुबण्याची गंभीर परिस्थिती निर्माण झाली आहे. सरकारने २५ हजार रुपये प्रतिहेक्टर घोषित केलेली मदत १0 लाख हेक्टरच्या सर्व शेतकर्‍यांना कोणतीही अट न घालता सरसकट तत्काळ द्यावी, अशी मागणी विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचे नेते किशोर तिवारी यांनी केली आहे. या वर्षी महिन्याभर्‍यात पडणारा १00 मिमी. पाऊस एकाच दिवसात पडत आहे. मागील गुरुवारी चंद्रपूर येथे तर एकाच दिवसात सुमारे ३00 मीमी. पावसाची नोंद करण्यात आली. अशाच प्रकारे भयंकर पाऊस संपूर्ण विदर्भात पडत असून ४ महिन्यांच्या मान्सूनमध्ये पडणार्‍या पावसाची सरासरी ४ आठवड्यात पूर्ण झाली आहे. यामुळे संपूर्ण पिके नष्ट होऊन पुराच्या तडाख्याने हजारो घरांचे नुकसान झाले आहे. अनेक ठिकाणी प्रशासकीय अधिकारी पोहोचलेच नसल्याने विषयाची गंभीरता त्यांना कळलेली नाही. महाराष्ट्राचे मुख्यमंत्री येत्या शनिवार व रविवारला पूरग्रस्त भागाचा हवाई दौरा करणार असून नापिकीग्रस्त शेतकर्‍यांना दिलासा देणार असल्याचे बोलल्या जात आहे. यावरच आता शेतकर्‍यांच्या आशा टिकून आहेत. या वर्षी शेतकर्‍यांनी दुबार व तिबार पेरणी केल्याने कोरडवाहू सोबतच सिंचन सुविधा असणारे, तर अल्प भूधारक सोबत मोठे शेतकरीही प्रचंड अडचणीत आले आहेत. अती पावसामुळे कर्जबाजारी शेतकरी आत्महत्येचा मार्ग स्वीकारत आहेत. मागील २ दिवसात मंगी येथील संतोष सिडाम व ठाणेगाव येथील अनिल मरापे यांच्या आत्महत्येकडे किशोर तिवारी यांनी जिल्हा प्रशासनाचे लक्ष वेधले आहे. कर्जबाजारी व नैराश्यग्रस्तांच्या आत्महत्या टाळण्यासाठी सरकारने या शेतकर्‍यांना आर्थिक मदत, नवीन पीककर्ज, ६ महिन्यांसाठी अन्नसुरक्षा, सर्व शेतकर्‍यांच्या मुलांना मोफत उच्चशिक्षण व मोफत आरोग्य सुविधा देण्याची मागणी किशोर तिवारी यांनी केली आहे. विदर्भात नगदी पीक कापूस व सोयाबीनचे नुकसान प्रचंड प्रमाणात झाले आहे. आता त्या ठिकाणी पर्यायी पिके तूर व ज्वारी घेण्यासाठी व उशिरा खरीपमध्ये घेण्यात येणार्‍या परंपरागत पिकाकडे शेतकर्‍यांनी वळावे याकरीता सरकारने विशेष अनुदान द्यावे व त्याकरिता कृषी विभागाने विशेष योजना सुरू करावी अशी मागणी किशोर तिवारी यांनी केली आहे

Vidarbha Farmers welcome Supreme Court committee’s “NO” to GM crops

Vidarbha Farmers welcome Supreme Court committee’s “NO” to GM crops

Nagpur-23^rd July 2013

3 million debt trapped distressed cotton farmers who are innocent victims of first Genetically modified (GM) crop Bt.cotton commercial trials resulting more than 10,800 farmers suicides have welcomed recommendations of  Supreme Court technical expert committee imposing an indefinite moratorium on the field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops till the government comes out with a proper regulatory and safety mechanism.

“Vidarbha is known as farm suicide capital of India after 2004 when Indian Govt.  allowed very rain sensitive Bt.cotton commercial trials which has proved as disaster as Technology was suitable for dry land cotton farmers and successive bt.cotton crop failure and mounting debt has started farm suicide spiral which is till continued and this truth was confirmed by Indian parliamentary committee headed by Basudeo Achaya MP reports too but cartel in Agri. Ministry and close liaison of MNCs  has been able push GM crops even after this vidarbha farmers’ genocide  hence we are indebted with  Supreme Court technical expert committee historic decision”    Kishore Tiwari President of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), an activity group working for farmer and demanding ban on GM crop since 2004  said in press release today . 

“We urge UPA Govt. to scrap proposed e Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, 2013, which is pending with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forest as  expert committee in its report to the Supreme Court said there should be a moratorium on field trials for Genetically Modified food crops like Bt Brinjal intended for commercialization until there is more definitive information from sufficient number of studies as to their long-term safety based on the examination of the safety dossiers, it is apparent that there are major gaps in the regulatory system as it is serious that GM crops for which India is a centre of origin like rice, brinjal, and mustard now being kept on hold which reflects view of the  Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, in a report August 2012 had asked for ban on GM food crops in the country” Tiwari added.

 ‘Vidarbha cotton farmers has paid cost  misdeeds done by regulators which  ignored several issues relating to health safety data of GM crops that biotechnology companies had used to obtain approvals aimed at commercial release of the crops without any socio-economic impact study during evaluation, the panel said ,that has confirmed by apex court technical committee hence we want criminal prosecution against concerned who allowed Bt.cotton seed  commercial trails in dry land region of vidrabha where there is no protected irrigation facility  as farmers forced to kill themselves due to massive crop failure and mounting debt converting region as graveyard  or dying field of farmers and tragedy is till continued’ Tiwari added.

Heavy Rain-Flood in Vidarbha Damaged Million Hector crop forcing Debt Trapped Farmers Suicides

Heavy Rain-Flood in Vidarbha Damaged Million Hector crop forcing Debt Trapped Farmers Suicides

NAGPUR: 22 JULY 2013

Record rain since 2^nd june @ more than 100mm to  200 mm per day has created havoc and most of region which is known as dry land area has been converted in to historic in flood-ravaged areas as region agrarian crisis hit and more are debt trapped and distressed has reported more than 10 thousand farm suicides since 2005 and massive crop failure as per initial report in a million hector due rain furry and flood has forced three more farm suicides in last 72 hours intensified as Santosh Sidam of village Mangi and Anil Marape of village Thanegoan both from yavamal and Charan Rathode from village Parsoda in Amaravati district  when heavy rain damaged the standing crop  of cotton and soya and as per damages being reported due on going rain cotton,soya and paddy under more than 2 million hector is likely damaged calling emergency measure to tackle wet drought in flood-ravaged areas of the region. Many talukas, especially in east Vidarbha, have been badly affected due to very heavy rainfall over the last 52 days. The maximum damage has been to cotton and Soyabean crops. Paddy, which requires lot of water, too is likely to have been damaged and farmers were forced triple-double sowing of costly seed and dosing of fertilizer now in a deep distressed as they arranged it from private money leaders and now even rain stop today crop under 5 million hector yield will not more 50% hence total damges are more than Rs.10,000 crore , Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS) informed today .

 “We are receiving rain in day that is ten time than we used to get in whole month niether the farmers nor the field is ready to face this massive cloud busting and hostile and helpless administration is adding fuel in the crisis ,it is reported that  east Vidarbha, more than 2 lakh hectare, which is over 10% of the total land under cultivation, has been flood hit. The worst affected is Yavatmal district where 20% cropland has been affected by floods caused by the rains. Agriculture officials said that the damage is on the higher side as crop damage is over 50% now Wardha and Chandrapur, Gadchiroli more damages are reported even last year drought hit Buldhana flood has damaged crop as major dams in vidarbha are over flowing causing more damages to crop vidarbha more than 50  casualties of human being reported thousands of cattle died in rain and flood hence we want central intervention declaring wet drought in vidrabha and relief aid to dying farming community of vidrabha” Tiwari urged.   .

“Around 10 Million of population of rural vidrabha are facing rain furry and are not getting food ,electricity and medical health there are wide spread protest and cry but administration is not able to give any aid ,officials till assessing the flood crisis and requisite relief aid is awaiting their survey  that will take another month that  more irritating hence  we want chief minister should visit to flood hit vidrabha and order the relief” Tiwari urged. 

ShivSena’s ‘No’ to separate Vidarbha is unfortunate Now BJP should come clean on Issue-VJAS

ShivSena’s  ‘No’ to separate Vidarbha is unfortunate Now BJP  should come Clean on Issue-VJAS

Nagpur, Jul 21,2013

Kishore Tiwari President of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), an activity group working for farmer ad tribal welfare today termed Shivsena supreme Udhav Thakare's opposition to creation of  vidarbha state in PC at Delhi on Friday  as :Unfortunate" and  demanded that the BJP who is backing separate Telangana should declare its National Policy on Vidarbha in light with recent SS provocation on issue.

‘When Shivsena failed to keep it’s own party unified ,now Udhav Thakare’s stand on unified Maharashtra is most unwanted as it's matter of masses of region to decide their future and Thakare’s brothers can’t decide fate of more 2 core Marathi Manus who are denied food ,shelter, education, employment  and health cares where farmers killing themselves @ 8 hourly and malnourished tribal’s are dying  due starvation ,the region has been graveyard and some of places are worst than Somalia hence we request Thakare brothers to review their stand over separate vidrabha   to save Marathi Manus illumination process’ Tiwari urged.

 ‘It is fact that all 11 districts of  vidarbha are till under the severe grip of Agrarian Crisis coupled massive natural calamities , tribal starvation deaths followed by the organized exploitation of illiterate farmers at the hands of unscrupulous moneylenders and the opposition is sharing power with Congress-NCP but Thakare’s brothers are not even asking their parties  raise these issue in legislative houses and  SS is salient over 84 thermal power plants projects of private energy producers proposed to come up vidarbha and massive backlog of development in all fields v.i.z. Irrigation,Industrialization,Health Services etc hence Udhav Thakare’s sympathy and concern toward the farmers in the vidarbha is nothing but a crocodile’s tear’ Tiwari said .

“BJP is keeping salient over vidrabha and backing the formation of Telangana when they have passed resolution of separate vidrabha in National executive decade ago hence  we therefore, demand on behalf of the debt-ridden farmers and farm widows of Vidarbha that the BJP high command make public its national policy on vidrabha statehood ”Tiwari added.

Implement Akshaya Patra Yojanato prevent tragedy in Maharashtra schools: IANS

Implement APY to prevent tragedy in Maharashtra schools: VJAS

http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/implement-apy-prevent-tragedy-maharashtra-schools-ngo-102312799.html

A voluntary organisation Friday urged the Maharashtra government to implement the APY (Akshaya Patra Yojana) scheme in the state to prevent recurrence of a tragedy like Bihar in which 23 school children died after eating mid-day meal.

In a letter to Education Minister Rajendra Darda and Tribal Development Minister Madhukar Pichat, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) chief Kishore Tiwari said the APY scheme supplies hygienic food cooked in centralised kitchens to over 1.30 million kids in more than 9,000 government schools in the country daily.

The APY is currently functioning in Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and aims to serve five million children daily by 2020.

"At present, the mid-day meal scheme (in Maharashtra) is in a very pathetic condition. Food given in tribal schools is too bad. Time has come to start the centralised kitchen meal scheme," Tiwari said in the letter.

"We have always said that we are a very rich country with a lot of poor people, that's the sad part of it. Our government has very good programmes, very good leaders and a huge budget. But the challenge in our country is how to deliver these good programmes up to the last mile," says Chanchalapathi Dasa, vice chairman of Akshaya Patra Foundation, on the foundation's website.

"I think that with everybody's support and with the power of music, we are going to spread it like anything," said APY brand ambassador singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan.

According to Tiwari, Maharashtra has an annual outlay of more than Rs.10,000 crore for providing food to school children. But corruption and mismanagement has marred its implementation.

When Leelabai runs the farm-P. Sainath

Opinion » Columns » Sainath

Published: July 17, 2013 01:11 IST | Updated: July 17, 2013 01:11 IST

When Leelabai runs the farm

P. Sainath

The Hindu

THE LAND LADY: While Ashanna is a symbol of success in agriculture in these parts, Leelabai is the woman behind the achievement. Photo: P. Sainath

In a region of poor yields, a gritty woman farmer succeeds even in years of crop failure. But high costs are depleting Vidarbha’s success stories

“I am the farmer, he did no farming. He only moons over his cattle, he loves those cows (even if they yield just a litre of milk each). Men hang around the village, women are in the fields.”

Leelabai is speaking of one of Yavatmal’s most famous farmers, Ashanna Totawar. He is something of a legend, a man credited with record yields in cotton and soybean even in years of major crop failure in Yavatmal. Ashanna is a gentle, experienced man who has closely observed farming in the Vidarbha region across 50 years. He is also Leelabai’s husband. The couple live in Pimpri village adjoining Panderkauda town, a major cotton market in Yavatmal district, Maharashtra.

Leelabai holds her husband in great respect and affection. She has little formal education, but is highly-skilled and trained by her own experience. On farming, she believes in telling it like it is. Especially when it comes to who really does the farming. “Bai (women),” she says. “And they do it better.”

Her knowledge, having been the main farmer on a highly successful holding for decades, is impressive. Also because she was the decision-maker in both farming and finances.

We met Leelabai at the home of Lalita Anandrao Gandhewar. Lalita’s husband, Namdeo committed suicide on May 20 this year, another digit in Maharashtra’s frightening farm suicide numbers. (No less than 3,786 last year, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.) Ashanna was there at the Gandhewar home, too.

After speaking to Lalita on what drove Namdeo to suicide, we chatted with Ashanna, the legendary farmer. Leelabai was squatting on the floor, almost in the next room in the darkened house, so we couldn’t even see her. But she made herself heard, butting in freely to address our ignorance.

On the field

“We desperately need to go back to more sensible farming. The costs of cultivation and the lack of proper price for produce — that’s killing us.”

Later, in their own home, Leelabai told us her story.

“When we started, it was possible in some places to acquire 40 acres of land for Rs.10,000. Today, you won’t get one acre for Rs.40,000 anywhere.

“The kind of inputs we now use invite serious problems. Weedicide, for instance, is not controlling the grass, it is damaging the plant and soil. It and other chemicals are eroding soil fertility. We are killing the soil.

“Ten years ago, we used much less pesticide. Now, even when yields are higher, the profit is less.

“Either we change many of the things we are doing or we will destroy agriculture.”

They were still children when they got married in 1965. He was a homeless orphan related to her family and chosen by her grandparents to be Leelabai’s husband. She dropped out of Class IV before marrying him. Today, she is 63 and he 67, she thinks, though both could be older. No one can be sure, though, since few kept records in those days. Neither had an inch of land to their names. Leelabai set about changing that after marriage, slaving in the fields to build both an income and a top-class farm.

Scant recognition

In a society where the man is always regarded the farmer and “head of the household,” the credit inevitably went (and still does) to Ashanna. As with women cultivators across most of India, Leelabai is seen as a “farmer’s wife” and not a farmer in her own right. Like anywhere else, women do the bulk of farming work here too, with little recognition of their massive contribution. Ashanna is a symbol of success in agriculture in these parts. But Leelabai is the architect of that success. To his credit, he recognises it. As for Leelabai, she is clear about it.

“I was always the farmer. Ashanna was a petrol pump attendant earning Rs.70 a month for a long time.” (Ashanna agrees that he only left that job some 15 years ago. By then his wife had built a thriving farm.)

“First, from the money I saved from all the work I did, I bought four acres for Rs.1,000 each. That was in 1969.”

Not just any acres — but excellent black cotton soil, land she chose herself.

“Those four acres are now worth Rs.50 lakh. (This plot is along a highway that has sent land prices soaring.) Then in 1971, I selected and bought 20 acres for Rs.9,000.

This she followed up with the purchase of 15 acres for Rs.25,000 in 1973 and four more acres for Rs.35,000 in 1985. And finally, another 10 acres for Rs.70,000 in 1991.

“I also sold off some acres along the way. So today we have 40.”

“All our food is from our own fields. I grow paddy on one acre, wheat on two, and jowar on 10. (Giving 10 acres tojowar is a very rare thing here.) The remaining land is equally divided between kapas (cotton) and soybean.” On the farm, Leelabai decides what to grow where, and when. And she is in the fields much of the time, most days, working. Which has a lot to do with their regularly hitting the 10 quintal-per-acre mark in both cotton and soybean. The average in this region is far lower.

She has built a beautiful house — and carefully constructed a lot of storage space around it. This enables her to preserve her cotton safely and for much longer than others, and so hold out for a better price from the traders. While most growers sold their crop for around Rs.3,800 a quintal here late in 2012, Leelabai’s family was able to hold on to its cotton until February this year. She finally sold at Rs.4,200 a quintal.

“We also have some 14 head of cattle. That includes six bullocks, five cows and three buffaloes.

“He looks after those,” she smiles in the direction of her husband. “He really loves those animals (even if they are not highly productive). We don’t need to ever visit the doctor because we drink only this milk and eat only food we have grown on our own lands.”

But on agriculture: “Something has to happen. Farming cannot continue as it does now. These costs of cultivation, no one can bear. We must have cheaper inputs. And we must get a better price for our cotton and soybean. If there is no change, we’ll all be lining up in the queue after Namdeo Gandhewar.”

sainath.p@thehindu.co.in