The Hindu : Government insensitive to farmers' plight: DYFI

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 01, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Government insensitive to farmers' plight: DYFI

By Our Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE, MARCH 31. The DYFI State secretary, A. Pradeep Kumar, today warned of a strong agitation if the State Government continued to be insensitive to the indefinite fast observed by activists of the CPI(M) and its feeder organisations before the Wayanad Collectorate, demanding relief for people hit by the severe drought.

The DYFI State Committee that is due to meet in Ernakulam tomorrow will discuss the future course of agitations if the Government continues to turn a blind eye to the fast, he said.

Accusing the Chief Minister, A.K. Antony of being "ignorant'' about agriculture, Mr. Pradeep Kumar said that the former's declaration of a six-month moratorium on revenue recovery proceedings against farmers would not in any way help farmers. The six-month time-frame was too short for farmer to recover from their llosses, he explained.

He said that the Cooperation Minister, M.V. Raghavan, who was entrusted with the supervision of drought-relief activities in Wayanad, had behaved "rudely'' to the people when he had visited the drought-hit areas. He also alleged that the Chief Minister's decisions suspending revenue recovery proceedings, distributing three months' free ration and reaching drinking water, etc. were only attempts to `fool' the public with an eye on the elections.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala