5 more farm suicides in Vidarbha in last 48 hours-Hindustan Times

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Pradip Kumar Maitra, Hindustan Times
Nagpur, September 25, 2012

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http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/935547.aspx

 Published: 19:17 IST(25/9/2012)

5 more farm suicides in Vidarbha in last 48 hours

FARMER SUICIDES IN VIDARBHA REGION --
YEARWISE
2001: 52
2002: 104
2003: 148
2004: 447
2005: 445
2006: 1,448
2007: 1,246
2008: 1,268
2009: 916
2010: 748
2011: 918
2012 (September 24): 558

 

Another season of nature’s vagaries, another season of failed crops and the continued spate of distressed farmers ending life — that’s what Vidarbha’s killing fields have come to be known as. Five more farmers committed suicide in the last 48 hours in the region.

According to reports reaching here on Tuesday evening, among the victims, three were from Yavatmal, one of the worst-suicide prone districts in the region, while one each was from Amravati and Buldhana. They have been identified as Ravindra Harne (24) of Bhamb village, Ukanda Punjaji Dighade (53), Wadad, Deepak Pohurkar (32), Vidur (all Yavatmal district), Pundalik Dhote (52), Didora (Buldhana) and Dayaram Samadhan Lawhale (44) of Hingni village in Amravati district.

Mohan Jadhav, a leader of farmers’ organization, claimed that all these five farmers ended lives as their entire crop, particularly raw cotton and soyabean failed because of delayed rains initially and later washing away of the re-sowing due to heavy downpour in the region.

Jadhav, who has been collecting the details of farmers’ suicides, said that the victims could not cope up with the heavy debt burden following loans borrowed from the local cooperative banks initially and later from the private money lenders for re-sowing. "They were depressed and worried as costly seeds were lost and killed themselves out of frustration," he said.

Yavatmal district collector Ashwin Mudgal admitted that he received the information of three farmers deaths in the district. "I have sent my tahsildar to the concerned villages and asked him to submit the report within two days," he added.

Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti, a farmers’ pressure group, said that the situation in rural Vidarbha is very volatile because of crop failure in the wake of delayed rains and subsequent heavy rains that washed away the crops.

Farmers realized that they would not be able to repay crop loans borrowed from financial institutions because of crop failure and would be treated as defaulters by the banks which would prevent them for fresh loans next season. "Now it is time for the government to instill confidence among the farmers that it stands by them in times of crisis," he urged and demanded a special package for the farmers of Vidarbha.

The National Human Rights Commission has already served a notice to the state government for the suicide by seven farmers in three days in the region last week because of agrarian crisis. The NHRC served notice on a petition filed by Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti.

The NHRC asked the state chief secretary to file a report in six weeks after taking note of the media reports claiming that seven farmers committed suicide in three days last week in the region. The NHRC said that if the report was true, it raised a "serious issue" of rights violation of farmers.
With the deaths of these five farmers, the toll has risen to 52 this month alone while the figure was 48 last month.  As many as 546 farmers have killed themselves in the region because of agrarian crisis since January this year while the figure was 918 last year.

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

© Copyright © 2012 HT Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Vidarbha Cotton Farmers and Widows Protest to FDI in Multi-Brand Retail

Vidarbha Cotton Farmers and Widows Protest  to  FDI in Multi-Brand Retail

September 20, 2012 (India)

**“The Development Model  by giving total control of Agriculture and Rural Economy in the hand few MNCs is very serious issue ,We want national debate over prevailing distress and despair coupled mounting debt and failure social and economical system in rural west vidarbha before going ahead  hence our protest to FDI in retail”**

Vidarbha Cotton growers and farm widows in eastern Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region have joined national wide on going agitation the Indian Government’s decision of allowing 51 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail sector. the farmers and farm widows protest was organized by Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), at villages  Hiwara  and Moha under leadership vidarbha farm widows association convener  Bebitai bais and Farm activist Suresh Bolenwar, Mohan Jadhav ,Kavitha Kudmethe ,Tulsiram Mandhare  and others  alleging thousands farmers  suicide cases have happened in the cotton growing region of Vidarbha due to the state’s pro-MNC policies, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a farmers advocacy group, said.

VJAS leader Kishore Tiwari said the latest reforms proposed by the Indian Government such as allowing 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail sector, along with the hike in diesel prices and subsidy cuts, would pave way for MNCs to obtain control over the entire agrarian economy of the country.

 “The Development Model  by giving total control of Agriculture and Total Rural Economy in the hand few MNCs is very serious issue we want national debate over prevailing distress and despair coupled mounting debt and failure social and economical system  hence our protest to FDI in retail” Tiwari said.

He said Vidarbha is a perfect example that shows how allowing foreign investments in agriculture inputs allows MNCs to build monopolies, giving rise to unfair trade practices like cartelization.

Over 9,000 farmers have committed suicide since 2005 when American MNC Monsanto was allowed to take over the region’s cotton economy. Following continuous and strong opposition, the Maharashtra government ultimately agreed to ban Bt cotton in the region, but the decision came after several farmers lost their lives, Mr. Tiwari said.

The Government’s latest decision makes way for entry of MNCs like Tesco, Walmart and Carrefour in the Indian business space, which would further intensify the agrarian crisis, which on an average has caused one farmer to commit suicide every eight hours, he

added.

Mr. Tiwari said the proposed reforms would prove to be the last stroke on the farmers, which would annihilate them in such a manner that they would never be able to recover.

जागतिकीकरणाच्या निर्णयाला शेतकर्‍यांनी विरोध करावा-भारत बंदला विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचा पाठिंबा

जागतिकीकरणाच्या निर्णयाला शेतकर्‍यांनी विरोध करावा-भारत बंदला विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचा पाठिंबा

स्थानिक प्रतिनिधी/१८ सप्टेंबर यवतमाळ : भारत सरकारने दिलेल्या विदेशी कंपन्यांना चिल्लर बाजारात गुंतवणुकीच्या प्रस्तावाला विरोध करण्यासाठी व डिझेल, गॅस भाववाढ परत घेण्यासाठी व्यापारी संघटन व सर्व प्रमुख राजकीय पक्षांनी २0 सप्टेंबर रोजी आयोजित भारत बंदमध्ये विदर्भाच्या शेतकर्‍यांनी व ग्रामीण जनतेने सहभागी व्हावे, असे आवाहन विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीने केले आहे. संपूर्ण विदर्भात सगळय़ा बाजारपेठा या दिवशी बंद पाडू , अशी घोषणा विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचे नेते किशोर तिवरी यांनी केली आहे. भारत सरकारने बहुराष्ट्री कंपन्यांना चिल्लर बाजारात पैसा लावण्याची मुभा व गुंतवणुकीचा प्रलंबित प्रस्तावाला मंजुरी देताना यामुळे शेतकर्‍यांचे हित साधणार ही माहिती सत्याला धरून नाही. विदर्भाच्या शेतकर्‍यांच्या आत्महत्येला बहुराष्ट्रीय कंपन्यांचे शोषणच जबाबदार असून सगळय़ा बाजार व्यवस्था व शेतीवर नियंत्रण मिळविल्यामुळेच कापूस उत्पादक शेतकरी आज आत्महत्या करत असल्याचा आरोप करण्यात आला आहे.भारत सरकारने चिल्लर विक्रीमध्ये बहुराष्ट्रीय कंपन्यांना प्रवेश देऊ नये अशी मागणी विदर्भाच्या कापूस उत्पादक शेतकर्‍यांसाठी लढणारे विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचे नेते किशोर तिवारी यांनी केली. सरकारने जर आपला निर्णय परत घेतला नाही तर विदर्भाचे शेतकरी येत्या २0 सप्टेंबरला या निर्णयाचा विरोध करतील व रस्त्यावर उतरतील असा इशाराही त्यांनी दिला. बहुराष्ट्रीय कंपन्या भारतामध्ये गुंतवणूक शेतकर्‍यांच्या भल्यासाठी करत नसून शेतकर्‍यांना लुटण्यासाठी करत आहे. हे सत्य विदर्भाच्या शेतकर्‍यांच्या आत्महत्यांमुळे जगासमोर आले आहे. जर सरकारने चिल्लर विक्री व चिल्लर व्यापारामध्ये या विदेशी कंपन्यांचा एकाधिकार निर्माण केला तर कापसासारखी परिस्थिती गहू, धान व तूर या सारख्या अन्नाच्या पिकाची होणार आहे. विदेशी पैसा यावा व भारतामध्ये गुंतवणूक वाढावी यासाठी सरकारने प्रयत्न पुन्हा एकदा ग्रामीण भारताला या विदेशी कंपन्यांच्या गुलामगिरीत नेत आहे. सरकारने घेतलेला निर्णय शेतकरी हिताचा नसून यामध्ये तर शेतकरी मरणार आहेच. ग्रामीण अर्थव्यवस्थाही सरसकट विदेशी कंपन्यांच्या हातात जाणार आहे. सरकारने आपला निर्णय परत घ्यावा व कृषी क्षेत्रामध्ये विदेशी कंपन्यांच्या प्रत्येक गुंतवणुकीवर नियंत्रक नियुक्त करावा, या मागणीचे निवेदन २0 सप्टेंबरला भारत सरकारला देण्यात येईल अशी माहिती किशोर तिवारी यांनी दिली.    भारत सरकारने दिलेल्या विदेशी कंपन्यांना चिल्लर बाजारात गुंतवणुकीच्या प्रस्तावाला विरोध करण्यासाठी व डिझेल, गॅस भाववाढ परत घेण्यासाठी व्यापारी संघटन व सर्व प्रमुख राजकीय पक्षांनी २0 सप्टेंबर रोजी आयोजित भारत बंदमध्ये विदर्भाच्या शेतकर्‍यांनी व ग्रामीण जनतेने सहभागी व्हावे,  असे आवाहन विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीने केले आहे. =============================

Vidarbha reports four more Farmer Suicide in last 48 hours-UPA’s FDI Chocolate fails impress Dying Vidarbha Farmers

Vidarbha reports four more Farmer Suicide in last 48 hours-UPA’s FDI Chocolate fails impress Dying Vidarbha Farmers

Nagpur -18^th September

**“The Development Model  by giving total control of Agriculture and Total Rural Economy in the hand few MNCs is very serious issue we want national debate over prevailing distress and despair coupled mounting debt and failure social and economical system  hence our protest FDI in retail”**

The farm suicide capital of India ‘Vidarbha’ till reporting its distressed farm suicide spiral as four more innocent debt trapped and distressed farmers suicides reported in last 48 hours taking tally of farmers suicides 546 in the year 2012 ,recent victims of on going agrarian crisis are

1.Devidas Thakare of village Kumbha in Yavatmal

2.Keshav Charpe of village Khed in Amaravati

3.Uttam Ingale of village Umara in Akola

4.Shaymrao Kothoke of village Mahadula in Nagpur

As per media report published here, Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti who is fighting the saving the dying cotton farmers of vidarbha region informed in press release today.

 “Last week only National Human Right commission (NHRC) issued notice to Maharashtra Govt. chief secretary on media report of 7 vidarbha farmers published on 4^th September and UPA Govt. announced  it’s big bang of reforms claiming that this will benefit the farmers who are being exploited by market traders and local commodity dealers but  it has been failed to impress the distressed and debt trapped dying vidarbha farming community ,we were expecting Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan  to visit vidarbha on Monday 17^th September but they skip the function to avoid humiliation as even after one month after CM’s announcement of 19^th August to flood effected  Yavatmal District till today neither relief aid nor any officer reached these villages . we have requesting Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan  to visit the vidarbha farm families who are killing themselves to under stand reasons of despair and distress but they are too busy power politics to saving chair” Tiwari.

 “Vidarbha is classic example of allowing FDI in agriculture input like seed ,pesticide, fertilizer as MNCs having done massive investment in seed, pesticide and infrastructure have created their monopoly and involved in unfair trade practices and created a cartel which is main reason of agrarian crisis and now entry of  Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour known the same exploitation will fuel more despair and distress and aggravate agrarian crisis  hence 3 million agrarian crisis hit cotton farmers of west vidarbha alone with thousands of farm widows will join Nation-wide Bandh  called by the Confederation of on September 20, to protest against government's decision to operationalise 51 per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail by road blockade on national highway passing vidarbha , Tiwari added.

“The Development Model  by giving total control of Agriculture and Total Rural Economy in the hand few MNCs is very serious issue we want national debate over prevailing distress and despair coupled mounting debt and failure social and economical system  hence our protest FDI in retail” Tiwari said .

Vidarbha farmers to join Sept 20 bandh against FDI- DNA

  http://www.dnaindia.com/

Vidarbha farmers to join Sept 20 bandh against FDI

DNA / Yogesh Pawar / Monday, September 17, 2012 8:30 IST

  
URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_vidarbha-farmers-to-join-sept-20-bandh-against-fdi_1741780-all

Cotton farmers of Vidarbha and farm widows will join the nation-wide bandh on September 20 to protest the government’s decision to operationalise 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail.

They have decided to block national highways passing through the Vidarbha region, many of which connect the eastern parts of the country with the south and west.

A statement issued by farmers’ advocacy group Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) says most suicides are caused by MNCs pushing the wrong technology eyeing profit margins and the state’s pro-MNC policies.

Readers will recall that more than 9,000 farmers have ended their lives since 2005 when American MNC Monsanto was allowed to take over the cotton economy of the region.

“Following sustained and intense opposition, the government finally conceded by banning Bt cotton. But poor farmers paid the price of this decision with their lives,” said Kishore Tiwari of the VJAS.

According to him, Vidarbha is a classic example of how allowing FDI in agriculture inputs helps MNCs create monopolies and unfair trade practices like cartelisation. “The entry of Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour will aggravate the agrarian crisis, which has led to an average of one farmer suicide every eight hours. First they break the farmers’ backs to favour these companies and now when years of the debts and crop failures have left them in such misery, theymock them by arguing how this will help them compete with farmers across the world.”

Tiwari feels these reforms will be the proverbial last straw for farmers, destroying them in a way they will never be able to recover from.

“These reforms like 51% FDI in multi-brand retail, 49% investment by foreign airlines in the aviation sector, sale of equity in four PSUs and the diesel price hike and reduction of subsidies will allow MNCs to control the entire agrarian economy.”

“Given the way the government is pushing ahead, this is bound to float conspiracy theories on who is actually trying to help,” Tiwari said.

HC notice to state on poor fate of 'Ashramshalas'-TIMES OF INDIA

Printed from

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HC notice to state on poor fate of 'Ashramshalas'

Vaibhav Ganjapure, TNN | Sep 15, 2012, 06.11PM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/HC-notice-to-state-on-poor-fate-of-Ashramshalas/articleshow/16410855.cms?prtpage=1

NAGPUR: Taking serious cognizance of a letter about the pathetic condition of tribal 'Ashram Shalas' or residential schools, the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court issued a notice to the Maharashtra government while asking it to file an affidavit. The letter was written by tribal activist Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) and was treated as public interest litigation (PIL) by the court. The judges also asked Tiwari to submit his claims mentioned in the letter on an affidavit.

Tiwari had directly written to the court that despite the Maharashtra government spending money on tribal schools, the facilities provided by managements are very bad. Though a lot of purchases are made on paper to create requisite facilities, the ground reality is that tribal students are denied even basic needs like food, uniforms, blankets or even toilets for girl students, he alleged.

Tiwari, with a fact-finding team, had visited more than 29 such tribal schools in Vidarbha, run by private parties including MLAs and MPs, where they saw pitiable conditions of such schools. He apprised the court of shocking incidents, such as sexual exploitation of tribal girls by school staff, deaths of children due to unavailability of medical treatment, and supply of adulterated food grains to tribal schools.

However, even after a court order, the government failed to take any action against the managements of these tribal schools, he claimed.

""We will demand of scrapping these tribal schools in remote forest areas so that all students could be accommodated in hostels near talukas where they could be educated along with mainstream students. This will also save costs and be a result oriented solution, instead of tribal schools which have been earning politicians crores," he said.

आश्रमशाळांच्या दैनावस्थेची उच्च न्यायालयाकडून दखल -विदर्भ जनांदोलन समितीचे पत्र जनहित याचिका म्हणून दाखल

आश्रमशाळांच्या दैनावस्थेची उच्च न्यायालयाकडून दखल -विदर्भ जनांदोलन समितीचे पत्र जनहित याचिका म्हणून दाखल

तभा वृत्तसेवा

यवतमाळ, १२ सप्टेंबर
विदर्भातील आश्रमशाळांच्या दैनावस्थेची चौकशी करून कारवाई करण्याबाबत उच्च न्यायालयाचे मुख्य न्यायाधीश एम. एस. शहा यांना विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीने लिहिलेले पत्र उच्च न्यायालयाने जनहित याचिका म्हणून दाखल करून घेतले आहे. उच्च न्यायालयाच्या नागपूर खंडपीठाचे न्या. प्रताप हरदास व न्या. एम. एच. तहल यांनी या संदर्भात महाराष्ट्र सरकारला संबंधित सचिवांमार्फत नोटीस दिली असून, येत्या १४ सप्टेंबरला या प्रकरणी पहिली सुनावणी होणार आहे.
विदर्भातील आश्रमशाळांमध्ये कोणत्याही सोयी-सुविधा नाहीत. तसेच काही आश्रमशाळांमध्ये विषबाधेने विद्याथ्र्यांचे मृत्यू झाले आहेत. त्यानंतर प्रसारमाध्यमांनी आश्रमशाळांमधील दैनावस्थेवर मोठ्या प्रमाणात प्रकाशझोत टाकला होता. परंतु, सरकारने यावर कोणतीच कारवाई न केल्यामुळे आपण व्यथित होऊन उच्च न्यायालयाला पत्र लिहून या प्रकरणात लक्ष घालण्याची विनंती केली होती, असे विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचे अध्यक्ष किशोर तिवारी यांनी सांगितले. १४ सप्टेंबरला किशोर तिवारी यांनाही न्यायालयात उपस्थित राहण्यासंबंधी कळविण्यात आले आहे.
एखाद्या गर्भश्रीमंत व्यक्तीने आपल्या मुलाच्या शिक्षणावर करावा इतका पैसा आश्रमशाळांतील मुलांवर सरकार खर्च करीत आहेत. तरीही आज अनेक आश्रमशाळा दारिद्य्रातच आहेत. आश्रमशाळांतील विद्याथ्र्यांना व्यवस्थापनाने पुरविलेल्या तोकड्या व्यवस्थेवरच समाधान मानावे लागते.राज्याच्याअर्थसंकल्पाच्या ९टक्के निधी आदिवासीभागातील शिक्षण,सोयी, सुविधा आणि विकास कामांसाठी राखीव ठेवण्यात येतो. त्यातूनच ४ हजार कोटींची तरतूद करण्यात आली आहे. या तरतुदींच्या माध्यमातून आश्रमशाळेचे चित्रच बदलेल, इतकी भरमसाठ ही तरतूद आहे.   याकडे त्यांनी न्यायालयाचे लक्ष वेधले आहे.या निधीतून आश्रमशाळेच्या सोयी- सुविधांपासून भोजनापर्यंतची संपूर्ण व्यवस्था करणे अपेक्षित आहे. परंतु, हा निधी त्यांच्यापर्यंत पोहोचतच नाही. एवढी मोठी विद्याथ्र्यांची हेळसांड सुरूच आहे. यावर्षीअजूनपर्यंत या शाळांना गणवेश पुरविले गेलेले नाहीत. विद्याथ्र्यांना गाद्या व ब्लँकेटचा पुरवठा झाला आहे. एका गादीचा दर २१०० रुपय आहे. यातून फोमची गादी दिली जाऊ शकते. परंतु, या गाद्या मात्र नारळी आहेत. विद्याथ्र्यांना पेट्या दिल्या आहेत. परंतु, त्या मोडकळीस आल्या आहेत. नियमात असूनही दररोज जेवणात भाजी दिली जात नाही. पोळ्या करपलेल्या असतात आणि वरणाच्या नावावर पाणीच असते, असेही या पत्रात म्हटले आहे.

याचिकाकर्ते किशोर तिवारी यांच्यासह आदिवासी नेते गणपत मरापे, तुकाराम मेश्राम,लेतुजी जुनगरे यांनी झरी तालुक्यातील
आश्रमशाळेतआश्रमशाळांची पाहणी करून सरकारला धक्कादायक अहवाल सादर केला आहे. यामध्ये निकृष्ट दर्जाचे जेवण, मुलींसाठी स्नानगृह व शौचालय नसणे, फारच निकृष्ट दर्जाच्या खोल्यांमध्ये त्यांना कोंबणे, शिक्षक नसणे, विद्याथ्र्यांना पुरविलेल्या वस्तूंचा दर्जा अतिशय हलका असणे इत्यादी संतापजनक प्रकार या पाहणीमध्ये आढळून आले आहेत.

यापूर्वीसुद्धा समितीने या विरोधात तक्रार करून उच्च न्यायालयाकडून सुधारणा आदे घेतले होते. परंतु, १० वर्षानंतरही आश्रमशाळांची परिस्थिती त्याहीपेक्षा बिकटच झाली आहे. सरकारने या आश्रमशाळा बंद करून शहरात किवा तालुक्याच्या ठिकाणी सर्व आदिवासी मुलांची १०० टक्के राहण्याची, जेवणाची आणि त्यांना समाजाच्या इतर वर्गासोबत शिक्षणाची संधी द्यावी, ही मागणी आपण उच्च न्यायालयात रेटणार आहोत, असे किशोर तिवारी यांनी सांगितले.