Other States - Rajasthan   

Concern over impact of wheat crisis on womenfolk

Special Correspondent

Need to import will hit PDS which in turn would endanger the life of women and children : AIDWA chief

JAIPUR: The president of the All India Democratic Women's Association, Subhashini Ali, has expressed concern over the likely impact of the wheat crisis in the country on the womenfolk. The need to import wheat would probably affect the public distribution system (PDS), which in turn would endanger the life of women and children, she said. "The PDS is already under stress with interested groups trying to dismantle the whole system," she said.

Ms.Ali, who is in the Rajasthan capital in connection with the three-day central committee meeting of AIDWA which commenced here on Friday said the present predicament over wheat was the result of the long neglect of the farmers. "The farmers are not getting enough support from the Governments for buying inputs which have become costlier manifold," she said talking to a group of newspersons.

"Strengthening of the farmers will only make the country self sufficient in food," Ms.Ali who later addressed a rally in the Walled City said. The wheat prices were already showing an upward trend in the given situation of impending imports and the poor were to be hit badly, she warned.

"It is a dangerous situation. We used to export wheat and now we are forced to import the commodity," she said attributing the situation to the effects of liberalization and free market economy.

Talking about the meeting of various women's organizations with the Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram in Delhi on Thursday, Ms.Ali said the promises made in the Common Minimum Programme on six per cent allocation for education and 3.2 per cent allocation for health should be upheld in the next Union Budget as it directly affected women and children.

Addressing the rally Ms.Ali said women were being considered an economic burden in the country and the fall in the man-women ratio all over the country could be attributed to the general attitude.

Expressing concern over the atrocities on women she said the involvement of various caste and communal groups were adding on to their misery.

She cited the case of the recent alleged mass rape of a "Sahayogini", employed with the Rajasthan Women and Child Development Department in Karauli district in which certain caste groups were trying to protect the perpetuators of the atrocity.

AIDWA general secretary Sudha Sundar Raman, Rajasthan president Sumitra Chopra and general secretary Durga Swami also addressed the rally.

The AIDWA leaders explained the significance of the Jaipur meeting in the context of the proposed yearlong celebrations on the completion of the 25 years of the organization starting from March 12.

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

Stories in this Section

Concern over impact of wheat crisis on womenfolk

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu