The Hindu : Withering crops, jobless men greet study team

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bijapur

Withering crops, jobless men greet study team

BIJAPUR JAN. 6. Uprooted grapevines, withering crops, dried up lemon and pomegranate plantations, job-seeking rural men greeted the Central team, which toured the district to assess the drought condition. Before leaving for Belgaum district, the head of the team, Satish Chandra, told presspersons at Kalkeri village on the border of district that a drought assessment report would be filed in a week.

He chose not to prolong his chat with presspersons beyond that. However, earlier during an interaction with farmers he said whatever assistance the Centre wanted to provide would be given to the State.

The Centre had no provision to give district-wise package. Even before the team started its tour many villages thronged the new Inspection Bungalow here and wanted the team members to visit their fields and see for themselves the damaged crops, especially horticulture produce.

Some farmers from Kanmadi village insisted that the Central team members see their withered grapevines and dried up pomegranate plants. Even as the members of the team tried to grasp the essence of the demand, the Secretary, State Department of Health and Family Welfare, Siddaiah, who is in-charge of Bijapur district, pacified the villagers saying that he would stay visit their village.

Though the district administration had drawn up schedules, the members of the Central team made some unscheduled halts on their way, perhaps, to have "raw'' feedback. Apparently, the State officials wanted to convince the Central team of the severity of the drought but at the same time they obviously wished to hide the "lapses'' on their part. At Sarwad, a member of the study team wanted to know about the employment opportunities for the drought-affected people. Shivanna, an agricultural labourer, said he could get work for a few days initially. But he had been deprived of a permanent job as the contractor, who had been vested with work to remove silt from the Sarwad Tank, had started using earthmoving equipment. However, the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Panchayat, Mohmad Mohsin, who was translating labourer's remarks to the Central official, skipped the main message that the people were deprived of jobs as contractors had started using machines.

The team members also wanted to know how the beneficiaries were selected for employment. They expressed displeasure over an answer given by the Deputy Commissioner, G.M. Dhananjay, that jobs were given to all who came forward.

The Central officials advised the administration to ensure that distribution of job opportunities had wider representation. Whenever the demand for labour work was high it should be ensured that only one person each from job-seeking families be given jobs. It would be helpful to more number of families.

People of Arjunagi were enraged when the team did not stop at their village, and the presspersons, whose vehicle was at the tail end of the convoy, had to bear the brunt. Farmers waylaid their vehicle. The journalists had a tough time convincing the agitating villagers that they were not government officials. They relented only after a promise that their grievances would be highlighted in the media.

The office-bearers of the Grape Growers Association, B.M. Kokare, and K.H. Mumbareddy, presented a petition to the Central team urging it to announce a special package for horticulture crops.

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Karnataka