The Hindu : Farmers on the warpath

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 07, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Farmers on the warpath

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 6. Farmers are up in arms in various parts of the State against the Government's "failure" to provide them relief from mounting debts and increasing losses on account of drought.

The farmers in Wayanad district today observed a hartal in protest against the Government's failure to rush them assistance. Crops are drying up throughout the district. Even drinking water has become scarce in the district which was known for his evergreen forests and perennial streams.

In Palakkad, people have been agitating for weeks now over the Government's "failure" to get water from the Parambikulam Aliyar system, released for irrigation. Water scarcity is becoming acute throughout the district. People complain that arrangements for drinking water supply are inadequate.

In Thiruvananthapuram, farmers' groups from different parts of Malabar have been staging a dharna for the past one week, seeking debt relief and other concessions. They want the Government to stop revenue recovery proceedings against the farmers who have defaulted their loans and to waive interest on loans. They also want the Government to allow them to tap coconut trees for the production of `neera'.

They complain that the politicians are paying only scant attention to their problems though many farmers have committed suicide. "They only want our notes and votes," says Regi Kanjiramattathil from Kozhikode.

The farmers say that the Government has so far not even spent the funds allocated for flood relief pertaining to the last monsoon period. "Much of the money is being spent on roads disregarding norms. Only 35 to 40 per cent of the relief assistance actually reach the people," says Sooryanarayana Bhatt from Kasaragod.

The farmers have been using unconventional methods for their protest like lying on cot of nails and getting hung upside down from a rope. They are an apolitical and spontaneous gathering of farmers, mainly from Kasaragod, Kannur and Kozhikode districts who have formed themselves into local groups called `kisan senas' and `karshakakoottam'. They have now joined hands for the protests in the capital under the banner of the Joint Action Council of Farmers, showing the signs of a grassroots- level movement.

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