Deprivation - Hunger and Deaths in Uttar Pradesh - The Living dead - story by Annie Zaidi, Frontline, Hindu :
...
Yet the State of Uttar Pradesh does not seem to have quite understood the connection between hunger and death. The crisis brewing in its belly, which the State has not acknowledged publicly so far, has claimed hundreds of lives already.
One of them, nine-month-old Seema, died in July 2006 at Belwa village in Varanasi district. Her grandmother Manni Musahar said they had nothing to eat and no money. Seema's mother Lakshmina tried to barter her wedding sari for grain. But before that her baby died. The sari had to be pawned anyway, for Rs.100. ...
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2406/stories/20070406002911100.htm
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Mangala Shivaji Betwar - Letter to ManMohan Singh
(THIS IS TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF ONE OF WIDOWS HAS WRITTEN TO INDIAN PRIME MINISTER FOR HELP)
To,
Dr. Man Mohan Singh,
Indian Prime Minister, Government of India
New Delhi-1100011
REF : YOUR HEALING TOUCH TO VIDARBHA FARM WIDOWS IS MISSING
SUB : PLEASE ARRANGE TO SAVE VIDARBHA FARM WIDOWS
Respected sir,
1. My husband Shivaji Betwar of Kelapur in Yavatmal district, Maharashtra, had killed himself by hanging to tree in August of last year after your announcement of package and you specially asked District Collector to give healing touch to farm widows of west Vidarbha.
Please see this photo below :
He was a cotton farmer, and he was forced to commit suicide as local bankers Bank of Maharashtra, Pahapal branch had failed to give him crop loan even though he was not defaulter.
2. Then since after the his sad death, I was told by local administration that as per promise made by you, the relief aid will be given to me as I have two small kids one age 4 and other age 7. After the death of my husband, nobody is there to look after me here at my in laws place. Nobody is there to look after our land too.
3. To day local Tahsildar has told me that Yavatmal District Collector has rejected my case as there was no crop loan, against by husband's name when he committed suicide. It was matter of surprise that when local bank has not given us loan and credit crunch has been reason of distress to commit suicide, I am being refused the compensation.
4. In order to avoid my kid's starvation, I went back to my mother's place in Andhra Pradesh mandal Besa in Adilabad district. But it was very difficult for them to feed my family as my brother is farm labor and I was forced to return back to dead husband's place in Maharashtra.
PRAYER :
Dear Prime Minister, it has been very difficult to live in these pathetic condition where as babus in local administration have not giving any help to me, I am writing to you that after your Vidarbha visit more than 1000 Farm Widows compensation claims have been rejected, in order to show the effect of your package, that suicides have declined, and we are innocent victims of your administrative politics.
You are kindly requested to save my small kids and help me.
Yours sincerely,
MANGALA SHIVAJI BETWAR
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
2007 - Mass BT Cotton Sowing in Vidarbha
VJAS Demands BT Cotton Sowing Intervention Vidarbha
VJAS DEMANDS BAN ON Bt. COTTON BOLLGARD - II IN VIDARBHA :
After the landmark mass sowing permission, by GEAC in June 2005, for Bt Cotton in Vidarbha, more than 2230 cotton farmers suicides have been reported and govt. of maharashtra has compensated cotton growers Rs. 219 core and Rs. 210 crore in the year 2005-2006 and year 2006-2007 for the failure of Bt.cotton in rain fed area of Vidarbha.
Maharashtra govt. has on record admitted that Bt. Cotton has failed in rain fed areas of Vidarbha, whereas 95% area of vidarbha is rain fed.
Now Bt.cotton seeds manufacturing, American company, has introduced Bollgard - II.
For promoting the Bt cotton seeds in Vidarbha, the company, with an elaborate network of Indian seed distributors and dealers, has started its high profile advertising campaign, backed by credit incentives - that it is highly profitable and gives minimum 11 quintal productive yield, where as according to govt. of maharashtra official report the cotton average yield has been dropped down from 120 kg per acre to hardly 50 kg per acre after introduction of Bt.cotton in vidarbha.
The advertising slogan catch line is "your farming, your profits"....
The claims made by the Monsanto company were patently fraudulent, as cotton growers pesticide uses was not dropped down where cotton output was drastically effected resulting mass suicides of cotton farmers in Vidarbha, Kishor tiwari added.
The Indian government is more busy at this time setting its cricket team into good shape for the next World Cup rather than rectifying the wrong decisions of GEAC regarding poor judgement in cropping and sowing patterns in Indian agriculture as a whole.
What a mockery of an Agriculture Ministry.
Total Failure of Rural health care support system, employment and social cum civil administration are the main reasons of farmer's suicides in west vidarbha.
Dr. Sudhir Goyal, IAS, who is Relief Commissionor, and implementing prime minister package himself has asked Indian govt. that low cost sustainable farming is only solution of stop these suicides.
The officials are more busy trying to show that there is no agrarian distress on Indian farms.
Ban on Bt. Cotton and chemical farming is need of hour, and cotton farmers should cultivate there than cotton should the programme of the state the official further demands. Restoration secondary systems like rural employment, health is also needed to stop these on going suicides but nobody is acting in this direction more over misleading press releases are adding fuel to extremely critical situation in vidarbha, as per Kishor Tiwari of VJAS.
VJAS DEMANDS BAN ON Bt. COTTON BOLLGARD - II IN VIDARBHA :
After the landmark mass sowing permission, by GEAC in June 2005, for Bt Cotton in Vidarbha, more than 2230 cotton farmers suicides have been reported and govt. of maharashtra has compensated cotton growers Rs. 219 core and Rs. 210 crore in the year 2005-2006 and year 2006-2007 for the failure of Bt.cotton in rain fed area of Vidarbha.
Maharashtra govt. has on record admitted that Bt. Cotton has failed in rain fed areas of Vidarbha, whereas 95% area of vidarbha is rain fed.
Now Bt.cotton seeds manufacturing, American company, has introduced Bollgard - II.
For promoting the Bt cotton seeds in Vidarbha, the company, with an elaborate network of Indian seed distributors and dealers, has started its high profile advertising campaign, backed by credit incentives - that it is highly profitable and gives minimum 11 quintal productive yield, where as according to govt. of maharashtra official report the cotton average yield has been dropped down from 120 kg per acre to hardly 50 kg per acre after introduction of Bt.cotton in vidarbha.
The advertising slogan catch line is "your farming, your profits"....
The claims made by the Monsanto company were patently fraudulent, as cotton growers pesticide uses was not dropped down where cotton output was drastically effected resulting mass suicides of cotton farmers in Vidarbha, Kishor tiwari added.
The Indian government is more busy at this time setting its cricket team into good shape for the next World Cup rather than rectifying the wrong decisions of GEAC regarding poor judgement in cropping and sowing patterns in Indian agriculture as a whole.
What a mockery of an Agriculture Ministry.
Total Failure of Rural health care support system, employment and social cum civil administration are the main reasons of farmer's suicides in west vidarbha.
Dr. Sudhir Goyal, IAS, who is Relief Commissionor, and implementing prime minister package himself has asked Indian govt. that low cost sustainable farming is only solution of stop these suicides.
The officials are more busy trying to show that there is no agrarian distress on Indian farms.
Ban on Bt. Cotton and chemical farming is need of hour, and cotton farmers should cultivate there than cotton should the programme of the state the official further demands. Restoration secondary systems like rural employment, health is also needed to stop these on going suicides but nobody is acting in this direction more over misleading press releases are adding fuel to extremely critical situation in vidarbha, as per Kishor Tiwari of VJAS.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Farewell Note of Vidarbha GM Cotton Farmer
LAST SAY OF VIDARBHA COTTON FARMER TO WORLD
(This is suicide note, copy is attached herewith, of cotton farmer GOVINDA JUNGHARE age 55, of village METTIKHEDA, in YAVATMAL District in VIDARBHA (India) who committed suicide on 10th April 2007 after Indian Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh's well advertised Vidarbha package for distressed Indian farmers.
Land of Snake Charmers dressed up as Politicians ? )
To,
Police Station Officer,
Police Station,
Wadgoan,
I humbly submit that applicant Govinda Zeetruji Junghare at Post Mettikheda, Taluka Kalamb, District Yavatmal, the home state of Indian Agriculture and Cricket Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar.
Subject : My family shocked as farm land is without being sowing any crop. How can we live without doing farming ?
I have no bullock for farming my land.
I have no money for seed, what is to be done ?
I can not think more. Money lenders are daily coming to my home and abusing me. I tried to arrange to money to repay but I could not arrange the money to repay my loans.
I did apply for crop loan case in bank but banker too has not given me the money yet.
Money Leander has threatened me to arrange the money otherwise they will take away tinplates fitted to my house.
But I am not having five paisa today how can I repay my loan.
I think over this crisis, lot of time and then decided, I should die instead of living.
Should I hang myself or take poison to die ?
Money Leander REKHA NAMDEO NIKHADE'S debt RS. 5000/- has a quarrel with me and manager of money Lender Nurru Seth is always coming to my house, asking for RS. 4000/- to pay back. This has made me mad.
No banker has given me the loan.
I have my wife, two son, and marriageable daughter, and how to do daughter's marriage.
I have no money at home, one son is critically ill and suffering from T.B.
Nobody, including police and politicians, should trouble my family, hence I have written this letter in detail.
Yours faithfully,
Shri Govinda Zeetruji Junghare
Vidarbha, Maharashtra,
( Home State of Indian Cricket Minister )
(This is suicide note, copy is attached herewith, of cotton farmer GOVINDA JUNGHARE age 55, of village METTIKHEDA, in YAVATMAL District in VIDARBHA (India) who committed suicide on 10th April 2007 after Indian Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh's well advertised Vidarbha package for distressed Indian farmers.
Land of Snake Charmers dressed up as Politicians ? )
To,
Police Station Officer,
Police Station,
Wadgoan,
I humbly submit that applicant Govinda Zeetruji Junghare at Post Mettikheda, Taluka Kalamb, District Yavatmal, the home state of Indian Agriculture and Cricket Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar.
Subject : My family shocked as farm land is without being sowing any crop. How can we live without doing farming ?
I have no bullock for farming my land.
I have no money for seed, what is to be done ?
I can not think more. Money lenders are daily coming to my home and abusing me. I tried to arrange to money to repay but I could not arrange the money to repay my loans.
I did apply for crop loan case in bank but banker too has not given me the money yet.
Money Leander has threatened me to arrange the money otherwise they will take away tinplates fitted to my house.
But I am not having five paisa today how can I repay my loan.
I think over this crisis, lot of time and then decided, I should die instead of living.
Should I hang myself or take poison to die ?
Money Leander REKHA NAMDEO NIKHADE'S debt RS. 5000/- has a quarrel with me and manager of money Lender Nurru Seth is always coming to my house, asking for RS. 4000/- to pay back. This has made me mad.
No banker has given me the loan.
I have my wife, two son, and marriageable daughter, and how to do daughter's marriage.
I have no money at home, one son is critically ill and suffering from T.B.
Nobody, including police and politicians, should trouble my family, hence I have written this letter in detail.
Yours faithfully,
Shri Govinda Zeetruji Junghare
Vidarbha, Maharashtra,
( Home State of Indian Cricket Minister )
Monday, March 19, 2007
Public Function for Vidarbha Widows
German women aid given to Vidarbha farm widows :
Pandharkawada (India), March 17:
Today in very largely attended public function (see photo)to give German women aid to vidarbha farm widows held in small town pandharkawada in yavatmal district of vidarbha(India) in which most venerable widows who are facing starvation have given the relief aid .the function was orgnised by pandharkawada civic body president anil tiwari in local agrasen bhavan was attended by all social and political workers of all parties.
Kumar Roy and Shibani Bhattacharya Indian counter part of Indienhilfe e.V., a voluntary organisation based in Herrsching, have disbursed the amount.
Courageous and spirited stories told by widows, publicly, to keep the life alive was main attraction of the function.
This time, the helping hand has come from across the oceans, from Germany, for the distressed widows of farmers in Vidarbha, the region of Maharashtra in the grip of a severe agrarian crisis.
The readers of a Munich-based daily sent in financial contributions for helping women after reading about their plight in a series of stories carried by the newspaper.
The amount representing the total collection is to be handed over to the women at a brief function to be held in Pandharkawda in this district on Saturday.
Karin Steinberger, a correspondent of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, a leading German newspaper, toured Vidarbha in December 2006 for a closer look at the agrarian crisis and the plight of the widows of debt-ridden farmers, who committed suicide.
Moved by Ms. Steinberger's articles, several readers remitted money to the newspaper's office, asking it to be sent to the widows. The total collection was the equivalent of Rs1. 5 lakhs.
However, the money could not be sent to India directly because of legal restrictions on remittance of foreign exchange, until Indienhilfe e.V., a voluntary organisation based in Herrsching, stepped in.
Kishor Tiwari, local farm activist of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti was the chief guest of the this function and urged all farm widows to change the agrarian crisis in to prosperity whole world is with, we will appeal the all international community to stand along with you in this days of distress. No widows have become sex worker till date and it will not happen in future too.
Vidarbha farm widows are the highly respected like war widows in this maharashtra ,we condemn the media campaign to malign the image of vidarbha farm widows as turning be sex workers, Kishor Tiwari informed gathering with grate pain.
However some sections of Indian media are bent on attracting sensational headlines, doing investigative journalism, looking for spicy headlines, without any compassion.
This section of media is choosing to put farm widows in the dock rather than the agriculture policy makers.
Pandharkawada (India), March 17:
Today in very largely attended public function (see photo)to give German women aid to vidarbha farm widows held in small town pandharkawada in yavatmal district of vidarbha(India) in which most venerable widows who are facing starvation have given the relief aid .the function was orgnised by pandharkawada civic body president anil tiwari in local agrasen bhavan was attended by all social and political workers of all parties.
Kumar Roy and Shibani Bhattacharya Indian counter part of Indienhilfe e.V., a voluntary organisation based in Herrsching, have disbursed the amount.
Courageous and spirited stories told by widows, publicly, to keep the life alive was main attraction of the function.
This time, the helping hand has come from across the oceans, from Germany, for the distressed widows of farmers in Vidarbha, the region of Maharashtra in the grip of a severe agrarian crisis.
The readers of a Munich-based daily sent in financial contributions for helping women after reading about their plight in a series of stories carried by the newspaper.
The amount representing the total collection is to be handed over to the women at a brief function to be held in Pandharkawda in this district on Saturday.
Karin Steinberger, a correspondent of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, a leading German newspaper, toured Vidarbha in December 2006 for a closer look at the agrarian crisis and the plight of the widows of debt-ridden farmers, who committed suicide.
Moved by Ms. Steinberger's articles, several readers remitted money to the newspaper's office, asking it to be sent to the widows. The total collection was the equivalent of Rs1. 5 lakhs.
However, the money could not be sent to India directly because of legal restrictions on remittance of foreign exchange, until Indienhilfe e.V., a voluntary organisation based in Herrsching, stepped in.
Kishor Tiwari, local farm activist of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti was the chief guest of the this function and urged all farm widows to change the agrarian crisis in to prosperity whole world is with, we will appeal the all international community to stand along with you in this days of distress. No widows have become sex worker till date and it will not happen in future too.
Vidarbha farm widows are the highly respected like war widows in this maharashtra ,we condemn the media campaign to malign the image of vidarbha farm widows as turning be sex workers, Kishor Tiwari informed gathering with grate pain.
However some sections of Indian media are bent on attracting sensational headlines, doing investigative journalism, looking for spicy headlines, without any compassion.
This section of media is choosing to put farm widows in the dock rather than the agriculture policy makers.
Friday, March 16, 2007
German Women Join Hands With Vidarbha Widows
The readers of a leading German ( Deutsche )news paper, "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" have given relief aid to Vidarbha Farm Widows.
They were moved by Karin Steinberger's article based on the struggle of farm widows, after the suicide of their farmer husbands, when local Maharashtra govt. turned blind eye towards the plights of these widows.
This amount was collected by news paper "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" was transferred to INDENHILFE, an NGO working for the Indian people.
Their Kolkatta base office is arranging a function for Relief Aid disbursement at Pandharkawada in Yavatmal district of Vidarbha, Maharashtra in India on 17th March. INDIENHILIFE office in charge, Kumar Roy and Shibani Bhattacharya have been touring in rural part of Vidarbha to identify the widows who are working hard to save the surviving family, from agrarian crisis.
Karin Steinberger, is with the German news paper, "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" since 2000, writing features from all over the world, but most of stories are from rural parts of India. This article was based on the hardships faced by Farm Widows of Vidarbha and their "struggle to remain live", without any meaningful and coordinated government aid.
It was published in 2006, and the article has been read by the thousand of readers in Germany, but relief aid programme, has just coincidently matched with the timing when one of Indian media, TV news channels, has been running a premeditated campaign, to run fabricated stories of Farm widows and has been evoking very strong response from Vidarbha and all over the world.
This German relief aid distribution programme, will boost morale of these farm widows, at last, after the sheer apathy of local Congress and NCP government, and top local bureaucrats of Maharashtra, who are more interested in book keeping and making media statements, debating the reasons for farm suicides in cotton belt of Vidarbha.
They were moved by Karin Steinberger's article based on the struggle of farm widows, after the suicide of their farmer husbands, when local Maharashtra govt. turned blind eye towards the plights of these widows.
This amount was collected by news paper "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" was transferred to INDENHILFE, an NGO working for the Indian people.
Their Kolkatta base office is arranging a function for Relief Aid disbursement at Pandharkawada in Yavatmal district of Vidarbha, Maharashtra in India on 17th March. INDIENHILIFE office in charge, Kumar Roy and Shibani Bhattacharya have been touring in rural part of Vidarbha to identify the widows who are working hard to save the surviving family, from agrarian crisis.
Karin Steinberger, is with the German news paper, "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" since 2000, writing features from all over the world, but most of stories are from rural parts of India. This article was based on the hardships faced by Farm Widows of Vidarbha and their "struggle to remain live", without any meaningful and coordinated government aid.
It was published in 2006, and the article has been read by the thousand of readers in Germany, but relief aid programme, has just coincidently matched with the timing when one of Indian media, TV news channels, has been running a premeditated campaign, to run fabricated stories of Farm widows and has been evoking very strong response from Vidarbha and all over the world.
This German relief aid distribution programme, will boost morale of these farm widows, at last, after the sheer apathy of local Congress and NCP government, and top local bureaucrats of Maharashtra, who are more interested in book keeping and making media statements, debating the reasons for farm suicides in cotton belt of Vidarbha.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Ten Minutes For Me Too Mr Chidambaram
- Gita, with her 4 month old kid
KOPA MANDAVI VISIT of VJAS - GITA WANTS ANSWERS FROM the Wise People of SOCIETY
Kishor Tiwari visited KopaMandvi, yet another village on National Highway no.7
"I was shocked to look at pathetic condition of 23 year widow of Sharvan Chichodkar, a Vidarbha cotton farmer, who committed suicide.
She asked "who killed my husband?"
Gita narrated .. "It was constant worry of family debt and food starvation, that forced him to kill himself.
After Sharvan, nobody is there to look after me.
I will have to feed my kid and old father in laws.
We are fed up with this crisis."..
Sharvan is third farmer suicide in KopaMandvi.
More than 100 farm suicides in this belt in last 4 years.
All GM cotton growers in Vidarbha are in debt, as per Shri Kishor Tiwari of VJAS.
Indian Finance Minister, Shri Chidambaram, had high profile photos and media coverage with top Indian industrialists, like Ratan Tata, on eve of Congress 2007 Budget. He did not have even 10 minutes to spare for debt ridden and suicidal Vidarbha cotton farmers, as he was too busy putting final touches to the Sensex Budget in New Delhi.
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