Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | 3 Lakh Dead In 20 Years. Here's How World's Largest Democracy Failed Its Farmers! -Maninder Dabas

3 Lakh Dead In 20 Years. Here's How World's Largest Democracy Failed Its Farmers! -Maninder Dabas

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Apr 14, 2016   modified Modified on Apr 14, 2016
-IndiaTimes.com

Since 1995, nearly three lakh farmers have committed suicide owing to agrarian crisis in the country. In Maharashtra alone nearly 60,000 farmers have ended their lives in last two decades. Last year itself, the western states recorded 3,228 farmer suicides with maximum cases coming from drought hit Marathwada and Vidharbha region.

According to the census, nearly 2,000 farmers across India are giving up agriculture daily and opting for other menial jobs since agriculture doesn’t win them bread anymore.
 
According to 2011 census, India has 95.8 million cultivators for whom farming is the main occupation. Compared to the number of farmers we had in 1991 and 2001, there's been a sharp decline in the number of cultivators in last two and a half decades. In 2001, India had 103 million farmers whereas 1991, we had 110 million farmers for whom farming was the main occupation. Although around 600 million Indians are either directly or indirectly involved in farming, but they all aren’t farmers.

After Supreme Court lambasted the Centre last week for turning a blind eye towards fund requirements of the nine drought-hit states, the government has been facing a lot of flak from all quarters.

Apart from the non-release of MGNREGA funds, what’s more appalling is that despite the country witnessing inadequate rainfall in the last three years resulting in famine in different states, the Centre hasn’t conducted a single study or survey to fathom the depleting ground water table across different blocks/talukas across the states.

The last study was conducted in 2011 in which 6,607 blocks from different states across the country were examined and 1,071 blocks were found to be over-exploited, 217 critical and 697 blocks were found to be semi-critical.

The nine states which have been declared drought hit are: Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Karnataka, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.

The appalling scenario

Large parts of the country, from Marathwada to Bundalkhand to Mahbubnagar, have been reeling from back to back droughts resulting in massive crop failures.

Nearly 700 farmers have ended their lives in Marathwada alone and if survey and estimates are to be believed more than 90 lakh out of 1.4 crore farmers in Maharashtra have been affected by the drought.

If studies are to be believed, 8 out of 10 households in UP’s Bundelkhand are eating rotis with salt, and nearly 17 % households are eating rotis made of grass.

These statistics speak volumes of the conditions the country’s farmers are living in, and that’s the reason why there has been a substantial increase in farmers quitting agriculture and opting for menial jobs.
Farming doesn’t win bread anymore

According to 2011 census, India has 95.8 million cultivators for whom farming is their main occupation.

Please click here to read more

IndiaTimes.com, 12 April, 2016, http://www.indiatimes.com/news/amid-drought-running-riot-and-farmers-committing-suicides-government-plays-spectator-253269.html


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close