Shekhawat concerned over import of foodgrains

New Delhi, May 23 (UNI) Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat today expressed concern over the import of foodgrains by the country and said this lead to several problems for the Indian farmers.

The country had to import wheat before the Harit Kranti(green revolution) took place, he pointed out and said the problems of the farmers that forced them to commit suicide must be attended to immediately. He was apparently referring to the import of wheat from Australia.

Unless the problems facing the farmers were not solved, the various problems facing the country could not be solved, he said after releasing a book entitled "Udgar"containing a collection of speeches of Madhya Pradesh Governor Balram Jakhar.here.

Mr Shekhawat said it was not long before the country had witnessed a "harit kranti(green revolution)"which had led to the prosperity of the farmers. But now the farmers were faced by various problems that was driving them to commit suicide.''One should ponder as to what had gone wrong,'' he said .

The Madhya Pradesh Governor said the collection of his speeches were spontaneous thoughts that came to his mind which could be termed as the voice of his conscience. He spoke of the rich cultural and archaeological heritage of Madhya Pradesh and said efforts should be made to preserve them.

The Vice Presdident pointed out that the main problem facing the farmers were fragmentation of their land holdings because of the increasing population and their indebtedness. Irrigation and corruptrion were the other contributory factors.

Union Minister for Power Sushil Kumar Shinde, who presided over the function, described Mr Jakhar as a farmer's son and said he had always been impressed by Mr Jakhar's deep understanding of the problems of the Indian farmers when he spoke in Congress Working Committee meetings.

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