VJAS plea to poll panel to relax code for Framer's relief-TIMES OF INDIA

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VJAS plea to poll panel to relax code for Framer's relief

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/VJAS-plea-to-poll-panel-to-relax-code-for-relief/articleshow/10924387.cms

NAGPUR: Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), an advocacy group fighting for the cause of cotton growers of the region, has urged the state election commissioner Neela Satyanarayan to relax the code of conduct imposed for the municipal council elections so that the state government could announce a relief package for farmers.

Last week chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had put on hold decision to announce a compensation package for cotton growers citing the state election commission directives. Chavan, while stressing that he was sympathetic to the plight of the cotton growers who have suffered heavy crop losses in several pockets of Vidarbha, Marathwada expressed helplessness as the election commission had not allowed any policy announcement because of the code that was in force for the December 8 elections to 196 municipal councils in the state.

VJAS president Kishore Tiwari in a petition filed before the state election body has requested Satyanarayan to relax the model code and allow the state to extend relief to the cotton growers who were in serious state of distress because of crop losses. The VJAS has requested Chavan to pay compensation of Rs20,000 per hectare as difference in current purchase price and the actual cost of cotton cultivation.

Pointing out that over a 1000 farmers have already committed suicide in the current year in the cotton belt, Tiwari has urged the poll panel chief that reports were submitted with the government from time to time warning of the impending crisis.

Tiwari has said in the plea that cotton procurement prices have not been revised substantially in last three years though input costs, including prices of seeds, fertilizers, labour costs had increased by about 40%. Several committees including the Narendra Jadhav committee had recommended urgent relief for dry land cotton farmers of the state but the government had failed to act on the reports. "After our meeting with the CM recently, the government had formulated a compensation package, But it was put on hold because of the model code of conduct," Tiwari said in the petition.

He has made a forceful plea to the panel to relax the code as a special case so that the government could announce succour to the distressed cotton growers on the lines of those offered to sugarcane growers of western Maharashtra. A relief package would go a long way in checking the unending suicides by farmers.

Vidarbha Agrarian Crisis is due to Govt.apathy -PTI

Food security, interest-free loans, income support demanded for vidarbha farmers

PTI | 11:11 AM,Nov 29,2011

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/food-security-interesfree-loans-income-support-demanded-for/918264.html
http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/after-reports-from-more-than-10-committees-on-facts-and/918263.html

Vidarbha farmers Nagpur, Nov 29 (PTI) The Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS) which has been working for distressed peasants in the suicide prone Vidarbha region, has demanded free healthcare, secondary income support and interest-free crop loan for dryland farmers. "VJAS has urged Maharashtra New Chief Minister Prhitiviraj Chavan to address the long pending demands of Vidarbha farmers. The most important issue of cotton growers which needs to be attended is compensation for wet drought and crop failure due to record rain and revision in cotton minimum support prices, which has remained unchanged since 2008 even when cost of cultivation has tripled in last two years," its president Kishore Tiwari said. Irrigation facilities in these areas would not cross 20 per cent of total agriculture land.
Hence there is an urgent need to make water conservation a mass movement. Approach of water conservation at village level would be the most effective solution, Tiwari told PTI. The NGO has been monitoring the farmer suicides in Vidarbha and has been on the forefront placing their demands before the government. The VJAS has demanded re-structure of loan for 2011-12, since DCC banks can not raise more than 1250 crore. An additional Rs 1500 crore needs to be provided for disbursement of crop loan. Also, de-silting of Malgujari (local private tanks) and minor storage tanks should to be undertaken by using special time bound programme to stop suicidal tendencies of farmers in the region, it said. Tiwari alleged that the Maharashtra government in December 2008 had decided to implement the recommendations of a high-power committee headed by Vice-Chancellor of Pune University, Dr Narendra Jadhav and had promised to provide food, health care and free education to children of 4.34 lakh farmers in distress from the suicide-prone districts of Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Buldhana, Washim and Wardha remedies on the farmers' plight, instead of providing relief to dying farmers, the then Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had in November 2007 set up a one-member panel headed by Jadhav to suggest ways to arrest farmers' suicides in the Vidarbha region when it was quite aware of the gravity of the issue of grave situation of farmers in the cotton growing belt of Vidarbha, he said. VJAS pointed out that in majority of farmer suicide cases, it has come to light that there was no food or medicine available to them which led to the extreme step. Tiwari said the Jadhav Committee has accepted the suggestions given by the VJAS and recommended that all the nationalised banks be strictly advised or directed to review the scale of finance and accordingly have extra sufficent staff for documentation for reviewing and revising the scale of finance/ credit facilities to farmers as per their eligibility.

Govt. is misleading the Nation on Farmer suicides: VJAS

Govt. is misleading the Nation on Farmer suicides: VJAS

NAGPUR: November 30^th 2011

The claim of Indian Govt. that farmers Suicide by farmers have dropped drastically in the current year due to government initiatives is misleading as country is under severe agrarian crisis due to crop failure in major state suicide prone states Maharashtra,Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka as there is severe cotton ,soybean and paddy crop failure reported and farm suicide spiral has restarted and ground situation very grim as debt and distress are forcing innocent farmers kill themselves, ,Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti informed in press note today.

“We have been documenting farmers suicides reported in vidarbha since 1997 and The National Crime Records Bureau –NCRB officially published actual figures of farmers suicides and we have noted that NCRB figure is three times our recorded figure but Minister of State for Agriculture Harish Rawat said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha has completely contradicted NCRB own record of farmers suicides and mislead nation this is very rubbish and unfortunate’ Tiwari added..

Here is official link of NCRB which gives official figure

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/archive/00820/Farm_Suicides__All__820598a.pdf

STATE	2010	2004
MAHARASHTRA	NCRB figure is 3141 Agri.Mimistry fig. 454	NCRB figure is 4147 Agri.Mimistry fig. 347
ANDHRA PRADESH	NCRB figure is 2525 Agri.Mimistry fig. 152	NCRB figure is 2666 Agri.Mimistry fig.1181
KARNATAKA	NCRB figure is 2585 Agri.Mimistry fig.138	NCRB figure is 1963 Agri.Mimistry fig. 114

It's official. The country has seen over a quarter of a million farmers’ suicides between 1995 and 2010. The National Crime Records Bureau’s latest report on ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’ places the number for 2010 at 15,964 even after Govt. informs Indian parliament that in India during 2010, 657 farmers had taken their lives on this count, while in 2004 the toll was as high as .Agrarian at it’s peak and NCRB exposes that brings the cumulative 16-year total from 1995 — when the NCRB started recording farm suicide data — to 2,56,913, the worst-ever recorded wave of suicides of this kind in human history.,

As Andhra Pradesh Govt. is also misleading when they report that 42 farmers’ suicide in 2011 in comparison to 1,181 in 2004 and 152 in 2010,in fact In Andhra Pradesh, 95 farmers committed suicides in just six districts in one month during Oct – Nov 2011, as per compilation of news reports by Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA). ASHA conducted fact-finding visits to 20 families and found that all of them were due to agricultural reasons. “It is highly objectionable that the Government classifies suicides as ‘genuine’ and ‘not genuine’! In 2010, while Crime Records Bureau shows 2525 suicides of farmers, the AP Government has classified only 158 as “genuine”! When it comes to implementing the relief package meant for families of suicides victims, the Government machinery is geared towards ignoring or not supporting the families with designated ex-gratia, under political compulsions , Kiran Vissa of Association for India’s Development added from Hyderabad (Kiran Vissa, AID: 09701705743)

“Farm suicide is only figure that indicates serious agrarian crisis needs long term solution as it is apparent that the existing model of agriculture cannot continue. The current high-external-input model of farming has been one of the root causes for the increasing burden on farmers, given its unviable economics with spiraling costs, unmatched by adequate returns. This model of farming has also resulted in erosion and degradation of the natural resource base on which production has to rest for all time to come! The Government has to promote sustainable agriculture that will reduce costs of cultivation for farmers and reduce risks through diversity-based, agro-ecological approaches. A programmatic thrust along with appropriate and adequate support systems is required to spread sustainable agriculture like the CMSA programme in Andhra Pradesh is required immediately. In this context, the importance of grassroots farmers’ institutions, to make farming a collective enterprise in many ways, cannot be over-emphasized”, Kavitha Kuruganti, Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) informed from Bangalore .

Cotton farmers protest against proposed bailout package-IANS Reports

Cotton farmers protest against proposed bailout package

Wed Nov 23 2011 19:59:10 GMT+0530 (India Standard Time) by IANS

Nagpur, Nov 23 (IANS) Terming as peanuts the proposed bailout package for cotton farmers in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, over 2,000 farmers blocked a state highway Wednesday as part of a seven-day-old agitation.

The Chandrapur-Yavatmal highway was blocked by protesters near Rampur village, 120 km from here.

The agitating farmers demanded Rs.6,000 per quintal as the minimum support price for raw cotton as against the market price of Rs.4,000 per quintal.

“This is the seventh day in a row that farmers are protesting at several places across Vidarbha. The demand is being supported by all the political parties, including the ruling Congress and the NCP (Nationalist Congress Party), but the state government is unmoved,” said Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, a farmers’ advocacy group.

Tiwari met Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan Sunday to apprise him of the hardships faced by farmers in Vidarbha due to crop damage.

“I have suggested that a subsidy of Rs.20,000 per hectare for cotton and Rs.15,000 per hectare for soya be paid to farmers to compensate for the 40 percent loss of crop this year,” Tiwari said.

“But I am sceptical about any package. I am told the bureaucrats are asking the chief minister to announce a paltry relief. This will be too little, too late and only fuel the farmer suicide crisis in Vidarbha,” he warned.

Hundreds of Vidarbha farm widows are likely to start a hunger strike Thursday.

An all-party meeting convened by Chavan on the issue remained inconclusive. Chavan also met representatives of farmer organisations and assured them of appropriate steps.

The Congress has sought a separate financial package for the farmers while pursuing the demand for an increase in the minimum support price for cotton with the central government.

Farmers stir in Vidarbha turns violent-Hindustan Times

Pradip Kumar Maitra, Hindustan Times

Email Author

Nagpur, November 16, 2011

First Published: 18:44 IST(16/11/2011)

Last Updated: 18:45 IST(16/11/2011)

Farmers stir in Vidarbha turns violent

Farmers and farmer leaders have intensified the agitation on Wednesday for seeking Rs 6,000 per quintal as minimum guarantee price for raw cotton in all over Vidarbha region. The agitating farmers resorted to blocking roads and raising voice against -- to what they term as the government’s apathy to agrarian crisis.

According to reports, violence continued in Amravati on the issue for the third day after Shiv Sena activists, led by the former Lok Sabha member, Anant Gudhe, damaged the state cotton cooperative marketing federation office at Rampuri camp area and set afire all the furniture of the office in protest against the meager rate of Rs 3,300 per quintal, announced by the government.

The agitated Sena activists also set afire two vehicles of state health department and set ablaze a state run bus near Badnera this morning. The district police arrested 20 Sena workers, including Gudhe and the district chief, Balasaheb Bhagwat in this connection.

On the other hand, the Independent legislator, Ravi Rana’s indefinite hunger strike entered third day on Wednesday. Rana was detained by the police on Monday and now in central jail at Amravati. Several farmers and leaders of different organizations who turned up at the jail to meet Rana on Wednesday were denied permission to meet him by the jail authorities.

Among the activists who were denied to meet Rana at the central jail include: Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti convenor Kishore Tiwari and former Maharashtra minister Sunil Deshmukh. Rana has staged an indefinite hunger strike from behind the bars for the cause of cotton farmers.

Rana’s Yuva Swabhimani Sanghatana, Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti and several other organizations also blocked roads and damaged public property at many places in Vidarbha in protest against the jail authorities “undemocratic” attitude.

The vehicular traffic on Mumbai-Kolkata National Highway 6 was paralysed at Tiwasa in Amravati when the farmers resorted to a "rasta roko" agitation on Wednesday afternoon in support of fair price of raw cotton.

The agitators even took out a huge farmers’ rally on the highway on the issue which was addressed by Tiwari and other farmers’ leaders. The farmers vowed not to sell raw cotton until the government hikes the guarantee price.

According to reports reaching here this evening, farmers have resorted to “rasta roko” agitations in several areas in the region, including Yavatmal, Wardha, Buldhana, Akola, Washim and Saoner (Nagpur).

“The agitation was peaceful in Nagpur rural areas,” said Manoj Shukla, the superintendent of police (SP), Nagpur rural.

Meanwhile, another farmer Umesh Shyamrao Bhoyar (32) of Amla village in Wardha district ended his life by swallowing pesticide due to crop failure and not getting fair price for raw cotton. Around 16-acre land-holder Bhoyar borrowed Rs one-lakh from the District Central Cooperative Bank and could not repay it because of crop failure. A frustrated Bhoyar consumed pesticide this morning and ended his life.

With Bhoyar’s death, the farmers’ death toll has risen to 22 this month while the figure is 672 since January this year.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/770080.aspx

© Copyright © 2011 HT Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.

शेतकर्‍यांच्या मागण्यांसाठी १२ डिसेंबरला विधान भवनावर मोर्चा स्रोत: तरुण भारत तारीख: 11/15/2011 11:32:00 PM कापूस आणि धान उत्पादक नागपुरातील सर्वपक्षीय बैठकीत निर्णय विशेष प्रतिनिधी नागपूर, १५ नोव्हेंबर कापूस आणि धान उत्पादक शेतकर्‍यांच्या मागण्यांसाठी विधिमंडळ अधिवेशनाच्या पहिल्या दिवशी म्हणजे १२ डिसेंबरला विधान भवनावर भव्य मोर्चा काढण्याचा निर्णय आज नागपुरात झालेल्या सर्वपक्षीय बैठकीत घेण्यात आला. सरकारने शेतकर्‍यांच्या मागण्या मान्य केल्या नाही तर बेमुदत उपोषण करण्याचा इशाराही या बैठकीतून देण्यात आला. आकाशवाणी चौकातील सरपंच भवनात माजी मंत्री आणि माजी प्रदेश कॉंग्रेस अध्यक्ष रणजित देशमुख यांच्या अध्यक्षतेखाली झालेल्या या बैठकीला शिवसेनेचे आ. आशीष जैस्वाल, राष्ट्रवादी कॉंग्रेसचे प्रदेश सरचिटणीस गंपू घाटोळे, बाबुराव तिडके, बाबुराव झाडे, किशोर तिवारी, माजी आमदार सेवक वाघाये, देवराव भांडे, हुकुमचंद आमधरे, चंद्रपाल चौकसे, हर्षवर्धन निकोसे, रामराव वानखेडे, अरविंद बोंद्रे यांच्यासह अनेक कार्यकर्ते उपस्थित होते. विदर्भातील कापूस आणि धान उत्पादक शेतकर्‍यांच्या स्थितीवर या बैठकीत चर्चा करताना वक्त्यांनी सरकारच्या शेतकरीविरोधी भूमिकेवर जोरदार हल्ला चढवला. आंदोलन केल्याशिवाय सरकार शेतकर्‍यांना काही देत नाही, याचा उल्लेख करत आंदोलनाच्या कार्यक्रमाची घोषणाही यावेळी करण्यात आली. कापसाला प्रति क्विंटल ७५०० रु., धानाला २५०० रु. आणि सोयाबीनला ३६०० रु. आधारभूत भाव देण्याची मागणी करणारा ठराव बैठकीत एकमताने पारित करण्यात आला. कापूस व धान खरेदी केंद्रे येत्या आठ दिवसात सर्व ठिकाणी सुरू करण्याची मागणी यावेळी करण्यात आली. शेतकर्‍यांना पूर्ण दाबाने वीज मिळाली नाही तर महावितरणच्या कार्यालयावर मोर्चा काढण्याचा इशारा ही यावेळी देण्यात आला. या मागण्यांसाठी संपूर्ण विदर्भात आंदोलन करण्याचा निर्णय या बैठकीत घेण्यात आला. त्यानुसार २१ नोव्हेंबरला विदर्भातील सर्व तालुकास्थानी धरणे आंदोलन केले जाणार आहे. २८ नोव्हेंबरला तहसील कार्यालयावर तर ५ डिसेंबरला सर्व जिल्हास्थानी जिल्हाधिकारी कार्यालयावर मोर्चा काढण्यात येईल, असे रणजित देशमुख यांनी बैठकीनंतर पत्रकारांशी बोलताना सांगितले. १२ डिसेंबरला हिवाळी अधिवेशनाच्या पहिल्या दिवशी संपूर्ण विदर्भातील शेतकर्‍यांचा विधान भवनावर मोर्चा काढण्यात येणार आहे. हा मोर्चा सर्वपक्षीय राहणार आहे, सर्व राजकीय पक्षांनी या मोर्चात सहभागी व्हावे या दृष्टीने आमचे प्रयत्न सुरू असल्याचे देशमुख यांनी सांगितले. कॉंग्रेस नेतेही आजच्या बैठकीत सहभागी होणार होते, मात्र प्रदेश कॉंग्रेस अध्यक्ष माणिकराव ठाकरे यांनी मुंबईत तातडीची बैठक बोलवल्यामुळे कॉंग्रेसच्या नेत्यांना त्या बैठकीला जावे लागले, त्यामुळे ते या बैठकीला उपस्थित राहू शकले नाही, असे देशमुख यांनी स्पष्ट केले. भारनियमनामुळे शेतकर्‍यांचे अतिशय नुकसान होत आहे. त्यामुळे कोणत्याही स्थितीत शेतकर्‍यांसाठी दिवसा ४ तास आणि रात्री चार तास या प्रमाणे आठ तास वीजपुरवठा करण्यात यावा, जेणेकरून शेतातील पिकाला पाणी देता येईल, अशी मागणी देशमुख यांनी केली. किशोर तिवारी यंदा विदर्भातील खरीपाच्या सर्वच पिकांची स्थिती अतिशय ़खराब आहे. सर्व पिके मिळून १० हजार कोटी रु. चे नुकसान झाले आहे, असे विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचे किशोर तिवारी यांनी सांगितले. यंदा थंडी लांबल्यामुळे रब्बीच्या पिकांनाही त्याचा फटका बसला आहे, याकडे लक्ष वेधत कोणत्याही पक्षाने शेतकर्‍यांच्या प्रश्‍नाचे राजकारण क़रू नये, असे आवाहन तिवारी यांनी केले. या बैठकीला बशीर पटेल (भंडारा), कोमलचंद्र राऊत, सुरेश पर्बत, सुरेश बांद्रे, दिनकरराव राऊत, दिलीप हिवरकर, प्रभाकर शास्त्री, दिनानाथ राऊत, रूपराव राऊत, शिशुपाल यादव, वीरेंद्र गजभिये, अरविंद बावनकर, रमेश चरपे, पुरुषोत्तम शहाणे व रमेश देऊळकर उपस्थित होते.

VJAS flays Psychological Aid to stop Vidarbha Farmer’s Suicides

VJAS flays Psychological Aid to stop Vidarbha Farmer’s Suicides

NAGPUR-Monday , November 14, 2011:

Vidarbha Jan Andolan samiti has strongly flayed Maharashtra move to seek Psychological help from one Goa base NGO been hand-picked by Dorabjee Tata Trust to divert economic issues behind vidarbha agrarian crisis forcing cotton farmers to commit suicide due the wrong policies promoted state ,kishor tiwari farm activist of VJAS informed today .it is reported that in a bid to extricate debt-ridden farmers in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, an NGO has been hand-picked by Dorabjee Tata Trust for the ambitious project will work to bail out 3 million cotton framers who are in deep distress analyzing the families of the victim farmers, their body language, psychological behaviour and other aspects to provide solutions reach to these farmers in a scientific manner and address their Psychological issues and render moral support in the three sector including common mental health disorder, alcohol use disorder and child and adolescent emotional problem, The NGO informed and

I QUOTE

NGO comes to aid of Vidarbha farmers

http://zeenews.india.com/news/maharashtra/ngo-comes-to-aid-of-vidarbha-farmers_741708.html.

PTI

Panaji: In a bid to extricate debt-ridden farmers in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, an NGO has come forward to bail them out of the agrarian crisis, a senior functionary has said.

The NGO, Sangath, operating from outside of Goa, has been hand-picked by Dorabjee Tata Trust for the ambitious project aiming to mitigate instances of suicides among Vidarbha peasants.

Sangath chairman Vishram Gupte said the pre-launch meeting for the project would be held in Nagpur in Maharashtra on November 30 to discuss about the implementation of the project.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau's statistics about 30,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last one decade. Gupte said lack of irrigation facilities, infertility of land and state government's failure are the reasons for aggravating crisis in the region. The NGO with professionals on board has decided to reach to these farmers in a scientific manner and address their basic issues and render moral support.

The four-year-long project will cover four districts from Vidarbha and eight blocks, Gupte said, adding Sangath is readying to set up its camp office in Nagpur.

Sangath officials said the experts would analyse the families of the victim farmers, their body language, psychological behaviour and other aspects.

"We will develop the intervention in three sectors, including common mental health disorder, alcohol use disorder and child and adolescent emotional problem," an expert associated with the project said.

UNQUOTE

‘This is brain child of Maharashtra Govt. to divert the attention of civil society and nation from basic issues involved in to mass genocide of farmers in India as last decade quarter million farmers mostly dry land farmers cultivating high risk highly price volatile crop like cotton are killing themselves because of free trade and wrong economic policies promoted by Indian Govt. as earlier too when vidarbha farmers issue Govt. called Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation ,Bhyuji Maharaj of indore and Ammaji from south and spent thousands of crore on physiological treatment economical ill debt ridden farmers but stopped it having got criticism from media and civil society now as once again administration is under severe fire as Maharashtra has reported maximum 3320 farm suicide in 2010 and daily 3 farmers killing in vidarbha they have smartly asked Dorabjee Tata Trust to do exercise which another hoax’ Tiwari added.

As the situation of cotton growers in west Vidarbha has worsened with the wrong policies of the state and particularly ban of cotton export time to time. The Bt cotton seeds promoted by the state have increased the economic pressure on farmers instead of resulting in higher yields of disease free crops. Already a low return and high risk livelihood, these policies that claim to reduce the risk have only increased the cost of farming. As a result, the cotton economy of the region has collapsed, resulting in mass suicide since 2001, he pointed out that when the rate of cotton lint gets a rate of $5.346 per kg in USA (around Rs 8,906 per quintal), the farmers of Vidarbha was getting a meager rate of Rs 4,000 per quintal.

VJAS that has been documenting the farmers' suicide in the region, said that most of the cotton farmers were distressed because of meagre rate of raw cotton in the market this season.

"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.