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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Karat raises decibel on farmer deaths

Karat raises decibel on farmer deaths

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published Published on Jan 21, 2012   modified Modified on Jan 21, 2012

-The Telegraph

 

Prakash Karat today said the spate of farmer suicides was the fallout of the “collapse’’ of the Mamata Banerjee government’s crop-procurement system and that it was “unfortunate’’ that cultivators were “suffering” within eight months of Trinamul coming to power.

“The central committee expressed serious concern at the growing number of farmer suicides in Bengal. There are reports that 24 farmers have taken their lives. This reflects not only on the policies of the Centre but also points at the gross failure of the state government to put in place a procurement machinery to purchase paddy,” the CPM general secretary said at a news conference following the conclusion of the party’s central committee meeting at Alimuddin Street.

“The procurement system has collapsed. Actually, the new government has dismantled the Left Front government’s procurement machinery. Farmers are suffering… that too within seven-eight months of this party coming to power… really unfortunate,’’ Karat added.

The comments came at a time three Bengal agencies tasked with procuring paddy directly from farmers and mill owners have been able to meet just 10 per cent of their target of 20 lakh tonnes because of lack of funds and inadequate procurement centres.

A detailed report on the “collapse’’ of Bengal’s procurement machinery was submitted to the CPM central committee today. On the basis of the report, the committee held discussions and decided to build up a state-wide “movement”.

In the past few months, several farmers, especially in rice bowl Burdwan, have committed suicide apparently after failing to get the minimum support price for paddy. Several debt-ridden farmers had been forced to sell their produce at lower prices to middlemen.

The state Congress, too, had hit the streets against the government, of which it is a part, on the issue, leading to bickering among the allies.

At the Trinamul panchayati raj convention yesterday, Mamata denied allegations that farmers had committed suicide because of farm distress and said those who killed themselves were “either alcoholic or were ailing”. The chief minister had added that several farmers had taken “crores” in loans and had failed to repay them.

The CPM central committee also touched upon “starvation deaths” in closed tea gardens of Bengal and attributed them to the Trinamul government’s move to “discontinue’’ the scheme of providing monthly allowances to the workers of factories that have shut down.

“People are suffering under Trinamul’s misrule. Nine workers of closed tea gardens have died because of starvation. This is because of the callous attitude of the government, which discontinued the scheme of giving Rs 1,500 per month to the workers of closed units. The Left government had introduced the scheme,’’ a source said.

The CPM central committee adopted the draft “political and ideological resolutions” that are likely to be finalised by the end of this month for discussions at all levels of the party before its April congress in Kerala.

Asked about the resolutions, Karat said: “We will try to develop an independent role for the party. We will fight the Congress and the BJP. But we will have issue-based cooperation with non-Congress, non-BJP parties’’.

“But this doesn’t mean a third front. Not at all,’’ Karat clarified.

The Telegraph, 21 January, 2012, http://telegraphindia.com/1120121/jsp/frontpage/story_15033940.jsp


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