BHUBANESWAR | Monday, November 2, 2009 | Email | Print | 
CPM holds Govt responsible for farmer suicides in State
PNS | Berhampur
A visiting team of the Communist Party of India (M) on Sunday held the Government responsible for the farmer’s suicide case in Ganjam district represented by BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The CPI(M) team, including Kailash Sadongi and Aswini Kumar Das, visited Srichandanpur under Sanakhemundi block, where a farmer committed suicide allegedly due to the pending debt which he could not repay after loss of his crop owing to caterpillar attack and a drought-like situation in the district.
The team, in a Press release, held the State as well as the Central Governments responsible for the suicides of farmers in the State. The Central Government has ignored the drought situation in the country and the State Government has also remained silent after declaring a package for the farmers for the crop loss due to caterpillar, it was alleged.
It was learnt from the CPI(M) leaders who visited Srichandanpur that the deceased Banchhanidhi had taken seven acres of land on lease and was harvesting a high price-fetching variety of paddy; HMT Sona. It was not possible for him to get the loan from any bank or any other organisation as he was a leaseholder. Subsequently, he had taken loan from a local moneylender. He could not, however, repay the loan due to the crop loss owing pest attack this year.
The team felt that the Agriculture Department has neglected the farmers by not taking the crop loss situation into consideration. The team demanded that the Government stop collecting loans from farmers, find alternatives to provide loans to them, declare the concerned area drought-affected and pay compensation to the victims, waive farmers’ loans and solve the irrigation problem.
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