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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Because of a poor harvest, voting is the last thing on Bihar farmers' minds -Alok KN Mishra

Because of a poor harvest, voting is the last thing on Bihar farmers' minds -Alok KN Mishra

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published Published on Oct 12, 2015   modified Modified on Oct 12, 2015
-The Times of India

ATRI/ WAZIRGANJ (Gaya): For 50-year-old landless farmer Ramchandra Yadav, alias Sadhuji, voting is the last thing on his mind, as he looks at his dry farm in Tetua village in the Atri assembly segment. All he can think of is how he will make ends meet, because this season's harvest will be extremely poor due to the depleted monsoon in Gaya and in many other parts of Bihar.

Like Sadhuji, a large section of voters - especially the small farmers - isn't particularly enthusiastic about the Bihar polls, a high voltage political battle that has generated interest across the country.

"The election is not going to revive the drying paddy crops. They (politicians) fight elections, we fight bad luck," said Janki Yadav, who owns a small patch of land in Banchar village. Sadhuji shows the little cracks in the paddy fields where crops' growth is stunted. "The land should be wet for a better harvest. A good paddy harvest ensures that we can at least have rice with salt for several months," a farmer said.

A few well-to-do farmers are using irrigation equipment to water dry fields in these areas. Many small farmers cannot afford such equipment. Some young farmers can at least get jobs in nearby towns and cities, but older farmers will find that difficult too.

The NDA partners blame Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the farmers' woes."Change the government, the condition of farmers will change", blared a loudspeaker from the campaign vehicle of Birendra Singh, the BJP's Wazirganj candidate, in Pura village. The farmers sitting at a roadside eatery in the village didn't blink.

70-year-old Daya Singh, a well-to-do farmer who runs a fertiliser shop at Atri bazaar, is also not enthused. "I have been hearing similar slogans from the time of Indira Gandhi. I will say that the politicians have failed to bring any change in the life of farmers anywhere in the country, thus forcing them to commit suicides," said Singh.

The farmers in these constituencies in Gaya are quite politically aware. One of them said the BJP came to power in 2014 on the wave against inflation. Still, costs remain high. "It is not possible to irrigate the fields when diesel costs Rs 50 per liter," one farmer said.

According to Dharmendra Yadav, the head of the Narawat panchayat, the two constituencies of Wazirgang and Atri are home to many landless farmers. They do shared farming. Most of them have been working in the fields since June when paddy season begins. With normal rainfall, the harvests are enough to give them rice for a whole year.

A bad harvest will not only starve them, it will also push the farmers deep into debt. Many top leaders including Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and CM Nitish Kumar have held rallies in the two assembly segments, but none of them offered a coherent solution, other than promising relief if they are voted in.


The Times of India, 12 October, 2015, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Voting-last-thought-for-farmers-hit-by-rain-deficit/articleshow/49319050.cms


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