Farmer deaths opens Kerala govt. to criticism from the Governor, Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition
The Hindu
The death by suicide of a farmer in Alappuzha has spotlighted the agrarian distress in Kuttanad, widely reckoned as Kerala’s rice bowl
The death by suicide of a 50-year-old farmer, K.G. Prasad, in Alappuzha has spotlighted the agrarian distress in Kuttanad, widely reckoned as Kerala’s rice bowl.
It has also exposed the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government to strident criticism from Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and Leader of Opposition, V.D. Satheesan and pushed farm bankruptcies and debt-driven suicides of smallholders to the forefront of the State’s public debate.
Mr. Khan waded into the politically sensitive issue. He told reporters in Kochi that the government splurged on celebrations while farmers and pensioners suffered. Mr. Khan said he was headed to Alappuzha to meet the farmer’s bereaved family.
An office bearer of the local farmer’s collective told television newspersons in Alappuzha that Mr. Prasad was under severe mental duress after at least two banks rejected his application for an agricultural loan.
Speaking to reporters in Kochi, Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan accused the government of failing to honour paddy receipt sheets (PRS) issued to farmers by Supplyco, the State government agency tasked to procure grain from cultivators.
He said the State was in a severe financial crisis, and the PRS documents submitted by farmers in banks for agricultural advances had only paper value. Hence, banks would not advance agricultural loans on their merit.
Moreover, the cash-strapped government’s inability to underwrite Supplyco-issued receipts had caused the CIBIL credit score of paddy farmers to plummet.
he Tamil Nadu Government will take appropriate decision to protect the welfare and livelihood of Manjolai tea estate workers as Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, which is managing the tea gardens for the past 90-odd years, is about to wind up its operations in near future, Speaker M. Appavu has said.