In debt-ridden Vidarbha, farmers splurge on bikes

In debt-ridden Vidarbha, farmers splurge on bikes

Chittaranjan Tembhekar | TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4422481,prtpage-1.cms

1.Tiwari, who has been closely watching the plight of the villagers for a decade, said a large chain of dealers and bankers have been marketing the vehicles after eyeing the farmers’ new-found money. “Dealers and bankers get commission for each sale, but they don’t know how this bike takes away the wealth of the family. Farmers here enjoy the bike and women work in the field. In case of money issues, the women bear the brunt as their belongings are sold and not the bikes,” said Tiwari.

2.“These are ‘killer’ vehicles as the poor farmers use them to travel to nearby talukas to play matka and drink. After losing money, they sell the household utensils of their bayko (wife) but not the bike,” said Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti. According to Tiwari, these vehicles have disturbed the socio-psycho-economic cycle of life here instead of bringing debt-ridden farmers out of the red by offering different ways of earning.

Mumbai: In the 2008-09 fiscal year, Namdeo Thakre, a Vidarbha farmer, gave up his land for the government’s cargo hub project and began working as an attendant in a hardware shop. When his Rs 1 crore compensation came through, he gave up the job to live off the money and began purchasing expensive items like vehicles. “He spent over Rs 90 lakh over the past year and is now again working as a labourer in the same hardware shop,” said social activist Baba Daware.
Thakre’s story is not an isolated one. A thousand kilometres away from the state’s economic capital, residents of several villages in Bhandara district, the heart of the crisis-ridden farm region of Vidarbha, have bought the highest number of two-wheelers (mainly motorbikes) as compared to any district — including urban areas — in the state this year. Bhandara, whose main village is Gosikhurd, is the first rural area to achieve this distinction, according to a review by the state transport department.
The review shockingly reveals that the farmers, living in one of the worst debtridden areas in the country, have bought the vehicles with money they recently got as compensation against the acquisition of their farms and properties for different projects, mainly irrigation ones, like at Gosikhurd dam. Rs 21-23 cr collected as vehicle tax from Bhandara in 2008-09
A survey of the last fiscal, according to state transport commissioner Deepak Kapoor, says farmers and labourers in Bhandara bought 88,000 twowheelers in 2008-09, over 7,000 to 8,000 more than in 2007-2008. Nashik was next, with 78,000 bikes bought in a region saturated with grape cultivators.
State transport sources revealed that around Rs 21 to 23 crore were collected over the past year in vehicle taxes from Bhandara district, with only 1 to 2% of the sales being cars. At this rate, Rs 300 to 340 crore may have been spent on bikes, the sources said.
Farmer community leaders say this is a bad trend that has been on for the last couple of years. Owning a bike has become everyone’s ambition in these villages where farmers don’t even have enough food to eat.
“These are ‘killer’ vehicles as the poor farmers use them to travel to nearby talukas to play matka and drink. After losing money, they sell the household utensils of their bayko (wife) but not the bike,” said Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti. According to Tiwari, these vehicles have disturbed the socio-psycho-economic cycle of life here instead of bringing debt-ridden farmers out of the red by offering different ways of earning.
Bhandara farmer Vinod Ghogre said that though the trend has temporarily brought cheer to farmers, it encourages them to spend money on items that are a luxury and not necessary. “They will buy Rs 100 worth of petrol everyday and use glazed tiles for their huts, but will sell the utensils when in loss or take the extreme step of suicide,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, transport commissioner Kapoor looked at the trend optimistically. “It’s a first such instance wherein a rural area has showed the highest sales, more even than any urban pocket. We had asked dealers to concentrate in these areas,” admitted Kapoor, whose department benefits through collecting vehicle taxes. “If used constructively, the motorbikes can yield fruits for farmers in the near future,” he added.
Transport department sources said the farmers paid several taxes, like registration charges, service charges and one-time vehicle tax. “This all, despite an economic slowdown which appears to have not affected the economy of villages,” said a positive Kapoor, adding that this was a proud achievement of the state. Overall buying of vehicles in urban pockets of the state had reduced due to the slowdown.
Tiwari, who has been closely watching the plight of the villagers for a decade, said a large chain of dealers and bankers have been marketing the vehicles after eyeing the farmers’ new-found money. “Dealers and bankers get commission for each sale, but they don’t know how this bike takes away the wealth of the family. Farmers here enjoy the bike and women work in the field. In case of money issues, the women bear the brunt as their belongings are sold and not the bikes,” said Tiwari.

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