NCRB reports Maharashtra tops farm suicides in 2010
Owing to rampant corruption in the Bt.Cotton farming sector a recent NCRB report has stated that Maharashtra tops the suicide number followed by four more states.
A RECENT NCRB report stated that Maharashtra tops farmer suicides in 2010. It's official that the country has seen over a quarter of a million farmer suicides between 1995 and 2010. The National Crime Records Bureau’s latest report on Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India places the number for 2010 at 15,964 and Maharashtra has reported maximum 3141 farmers suicides followed by Karnataka 2585, Andhra Pradesh at 2,525 and Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh amounting 10,614. That brings the cumulative 16-year total from 1995 when the NCRB started recording farm suicide data to 2, 56, 913, the worst-ever recorded wave of suicides of this kind in human history. Maharashtra posts a dismal picture with over 50,000 farmers killing themselves in the country's richest State in that period. It also remains the worst State for such deaths for a decade now. Close to two-thirds of all farm suicides have occurred in five States: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti has urged UPA convener Sonia Gandhi to change Maharashtra worst performing Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan as he is failed to protect cotton farmers of region having has ignored main demands of hike in Minimum Support Price-MSP of cotton, soybean and paddy and failed to resolve the issues of the procurement centres along with serious issue of power cut in rural Vidarbha which is more than 18 hours and due to load-shedding, 50 per cent cotton and paddy production of the region has suffered hence it was expected.
The recent announcement of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan yesterday that hiking the of Minimum Support Price-MSP of cotton will hit textile industry and lead to closing of mills has shocked the five million cotton farmers of Maharashtra as this is against the pending demand of congress and NCP party. It was expected that congress leaders of region will take up this serious issue of agrarian crisis with Maharashtra CM but nobody pushed the main demands and all were busy in welcoming him moreover.
As Chief Minister Chavan has given hostile administration to state and administrative corruption is at peaks there is no coordination of ministers with chief minister resulting complete failure of state coalition government hence we are demanding his removal to save dying cotton farmers of Maharashtra.
In Maharashtra alone cotton is cultivated over 52 lakh hectare and the lion's share of it is in the rain fed region of Vidarbha and Marathwada where Bt.cotton crop has been failed due to long dry spell in September severely effecting the net yield of cotton by 50 per cent resulting another Black Diwali for Bt.cotton growers who are in rip of agrarian crisis and committing suicides since June 2005.
The rain sensitive Bt.cotton seed which has increased almost triple the cultivation cost and drop down the net average cotton production per hector coupled with international market volatility and Indian Govt. export restrictions are the main reasons of prevailing distress and despair in region forcing the cotton farmers to kill themselves which is matter of national shame but complete apathy of Govt. at the centre and state are adding fuel to this on-going farmers genocide, Tiwari said.
Since august party leaders who are in power are found busy in demanding MSP for cotton like public auction from Rs 5,000 or Rs 6000 per quintal and it is countered by the opposition leaders with the demand for Rs 7,000 or Rs 8,000 per quintal for the sake of political mileage making joke of the debt ridden farmers suffering as UPA Congress-NCP government has shamelessly hiked the cotton price from Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,300 a quintal in four years overlooking sky rocketing production cost which is allowing private traders to exploit the cotton farmers hence Maharashtra farmers are demanding state procurement at minimum Rs . 6000 per quintal in order to give bailout relief more than 5 million debt trapped cotton farmers of Maharashtra as there are valid reasons when The Maharashtra State Cooperative Cotton Growers Marketing Federation chairman Dr NP Hirani has demanded Rs 6,000 per quintal while MPCC president Manikrao Thakre urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi to ensure Rs 5,000 MSP followed by social justice minister Shivajirao Moghe took two MLAs along with him to New Delhi and they urged the Party President Smt.Sonia Gnadhiji to lift ban on cotton export permanently and hike the MSP to Rs 7,000 per quintal but in ground reality cotton farmers will another Black Diwali and there are more chances of farm suicides due on going despair and distress, Tiwari added.
Looking at prevailing situation internationally wherein cotton prices are likely to soar to Rs 7,000 a quintal this year too riding on the global scarcity on account of poor crops in the US, China and Pakistan, Indian cotton farmers can hedge these prices only if central government manages to raise the minimum support price to Rs 6,000 level but The government has not responded favourably disappointing cotton farmer hence we urge for urgent intervention to save dying cotton farmers, Tiwari said. "As the reports from all over are showing world shortage of cotton production, the Indian farmer gets advantage this time as cotton is now placed under open general license (OGL) for exports. But the OGL status should be continued. Last year, the Centre put unnecessary restrictions on exports denying farmers an opportunity to make it big. In the process they lost a market worth Rs 30,000 crore," said Tiwari.
At the national level Maharashtra is main state which is cultivating Bt.cotton in around 52 lakh hector which is around 40% of Indian cotton cultivation moreover agrarian economy of Maharashtra is completely based on cotton production and prices hence we demand urgent intervention from government.
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