Bt.cotton failure : Seven
Vidarbha Farmers suicides in last 72 hours due to Crop Damage and Toxic Pesticide claims 28 Farm Workers in this
month in Yavatmal alone
When Bt.cotton seed companies are
painting rosy picture of changing vidarbha cotton farmers economy, claiming
bumper crop in some of section of media
same time in last 72 hours seven more vidarbha farmers killed themselves
due to Bt.cotton damages after massive pest attack ruined crop even after
cotton farmers did more than 4 to 5 spray of very toxic pesticide resulting in
more than 28 farm labourers death in
last 30 days in most effected Yavatmal district alone due to unscrupulous and
unprotected handling of pesticides as per media reports where as administration
confirmed these farm labors death due to unknown reason of food poisoning and
also admitting that more than 150 farm labors involved in toxic spray handling
fallen ill and reported in Govt. run hospitals this month exposing pathetic
scenario of dying vidarbha which is under agrarian crisis since 2005 and
distressed and despair due to frequent Bt.cotton crop failure resulting the massive debt has been sighted
as main reason of this mass genocide of innocent vidarbha farmers.
With the deaths of these seven farmers,
the toll has risen to 59 this month alone while the figure was 48 last
month. As many as 565 farmers have
killed themselves in the region because of agrarian crisis since January this
year while the figure was 918 last year, Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan
Samiti ,farmer’s pressure group working for rights of dying cotton farmers
informed in press release today .
The recent victims include father and son
from village Kopari in Buldhana identified
as
1.Baliram
Wagh of Kopari in Buldhana
2.Shivaji
Wagh of Kopari in Buldhana
Others are
3.Rama
Kharat of Giroli in Buldhana.
4.Prakash
Jadhav of Koregoan in Buldhana
5.Sunil
Choudhary of Karanja inwashim
6.Yashvant
Chavan of Sultanpur In Amaravati .
7.Shankar
Mudalkar of Yari in Yavatmal
The National Human Rights Commission has already
served a notice to the state government for the suicide by seven farmers in
three days in the region last week because of agrarian crisis. The NHRC served
notice on a petition filed by Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti.
The NHRC asked the state chief secretary
to file a report in six weeks after taking note of the media reports claiming
that seven farmers committed suicide in three days last week in the region. The
NHRC said that if the report was true, it raised a "serious issue" of
rights violation of farmers, Tiwari said.
FARMER
SUICIDES IN VIDARBHA REGION --
YEARWISE
2001: 52
2002: 104
2003: 148
2004: 447
2005: 445
2006: 1,448
2007: 1,246
2008: 1,268
2009: 916
2010: 748
2011: 918
2012 (September 28): 565
YEARWISE
2001: 52
2002: 104
2003: 148
2004: 447
2005: 445
2006: 1,448
2007: 1,246
2008: 1,268
2009: 916
2010: 748
2011: 918
2012 (September 28): 565
This year initially rain delayed forced farmers for
re-sowing then heavy rain and flood has made life of rural vidarbha miserable resulting in very heavy damages to
Bt.cotton crop ,now this months attack of
pest and mealy bug has further damaged the crop forcing farmers to go for uncontrolled
pesticides spray resulting as per media report that
28 workers have died in a span of 30 days due to poisoning due to pesticides. While
over 150 persons have fallen victim of the poisoning in the district since
August last and it reported that these .Farm labourers, most of them
illiterate, are unaware of the health hazards due to unprotected handling of
these chemicals. They prepare the pesticide mixture with bare hands before
spraying it on the crop. They seldom use masks or gloves and accidentally
consume these hazardous chemicals while eating or drinking. However, the effect
is not immediate and symptoms appear after a few days. These labourers then
approach nearby public health centre from where they are referred to government
hospitals or private nursing homes in the Yavatmal city. In many cases, patients have died even
before getting proper medical treatment. Reports of deaths due to poisoning are
more from the private hospitals. It is pertinent to note that the Govt. of Kerala has
even banned the use of most poisonous pesticides like 'Endosalfan' as its use
has rendered many innocent permanently disabled or even lost their lives in the
past but in vidarbha very toxic internationally banned pesticides are being used
openly with Govt. consent, Tiwari added.
‘In Maharashtra Political Parties
in power and opposition are raising issue of massive irrigation scam and FDI as
a concern for the dying debt trapped farmers but at ground level none of these
parties and administration are getting time to look at pathetic condition and
reason despair that is killing farmer community and to provide healing touch of
food security, crop damage compensation, health facility, sustainable environment
friendly agriculture practices and debt relief
measures and rural economic and social system restoration which is need of hour’
Tiwari said .
.
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