The Hindu : Other States / Maharashtra News : Where harried farmers hold the aces

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Wednesday, Oct 06, 2004

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Other States - Maharashtra

Where harried farmers hold the aces

By K.V. Prasad

WARDHA (MAHARASHTRA), OCT. 5 . The cotton-growers in the Vidarbha region, considered one of the more backward regions of Maharashtra, have had a nightmarish experience. Absence of rain over the last four years coupled with mounting inputcost, price for produce that had slid down and mounting debt. The crisis had led to even suicides.

That the problem could spiral into a major political issue was perhaps realised by the Congress-led Democratic Front Government.The party has promised to write off interest on loans for one year and offer free power.

The Opposition, the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party, cried foul claiming that the ruling coalition had snatched its pre-election promise by announcing its implementation.

The cotton-growers have also been shifting to an alternative crop — soyabean — but that has not improved their condition, because it is susceptible to the vagaries of weather and remuneration being subject to demand-supply position.

After the suicides Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, travelled to the village Talaigaon, 20 km from here, and handed over compensation to the family of Ramesh Deshmukh who committed suicide.

But the widow and her three children toil on their holdings with two children alternating between school and farm work, said the villagers.

"We never imagined that Sonia Gandhi, would visit our village," Pramod Davade, their neighbour, told The Hindu . Yet, the college dropout was quick to point out that everyone understood why she visited the village.

While he was not certain whether the gesture would fetch the Congress more votes, many in the village did not appear enthusiastic about the party candidate and sitting MLA, Pramod Shende.

Rahul Aloni, an unemployed post-graduate doubling as a caretaker of his family grocery store, felt that people voted for the candidate on caste considerations. People's anger at official apathy came out when the area rejected Congress candidates in the recentgeneral elections. His observation on caste consideration was endorsed by Vijay Jawandhiya, founder-member of Shetkari Sanghatana. Though, he has dissociated himself from Sharad Joshi, Mr. Jawandhiya continues to work for the welfare of farmers and is `their voice' in the country and abroad.

He blames the previous Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance Government forcotton-growers' problems — the opening up of imports under WTO and moving away from cotton monopoly prevention scheme.

He says it was unfortunate that the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party, which was in the Opposition then, did not make it an issue.

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Where harried farmers hold the aces