The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Promote SEZs for farm produce’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 15, 2007
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Promote SEZs for farm produce’

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: K.N. Govindacharya, Working Committee member, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, on Saturday urged the Centre and State Governments to establish special economic zones for the jute industry, carpet manufacture, coconut products, vegetables (Jharkhand), apple (Himachal Pradesh) and makhana and litchi fruits (Bihar) if they wanted to help farmers.

Speaking to presspersons here, Mr. Govindacharya, who is the convener of the Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan, said SEZs were acceptable provided they were farm-produce based and owned by farmers.

Asked whether an economic system, which he considered right, had been implemented anywhere with success, he said the Surabhi Shodha Samsthana had done it near Varanasi and at Raipur in Chhattisgarh where low-cost multiple crops were being raised. He had a solution for coffee growers in Kodagu, Hassan and Chikmagalur districts to get rid of the white stem borer.

Mr. Govindacharya, who was here to attend a function where a book on SEZs was released, said nature had answers to all problems. There were farmer-friendly insects and animals that killed pests, but the excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers had gradually wiped them out. The only solution was to take up organic farming.

He alleged that the National Democratic Alliance, the United Progressive Alliance and the Left parties had found a common cause in SEZs backed by the rich and were insensitive to the sufferings of the poor.

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

Karnataka

News Update

Stories in this Section