Centre must take serious steps to tackle farmer suicides: Yechury

Bhopal, Oct 9 (UNI) CPI(M) Politbureau Member Sitaram Yechury today said the Centre needs to take serious steps to tackle farmer suicides in different parts of the country.

''In the past two years, about 30,000 debt-ridden farmers took their lives. The spate of farmer suicides in Vidarbha is not coming under control despite announcement of a relief package by the Centre,'' Mr Yechury told reporters here today.

He underscored the need for providing institutional loans to farmers and reducing interest rate to four per cent besides effecting an increase in support price for peasant's produce.

Stressing that the Centre's economic policies needed changes, the CPI(M) leader said encouragement of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy has led to acquiring of agricultural land for industrial purpose.

He said several sops had been provided driving industrialists to set up SEZs thereby affecting normal economic activities badly.

The CP(M) had raised the issue during the UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting and had emphasised on the need for 50 per cent use of allocated land under the SEZs instead of present 25 per cent.

Dodging questions over clemency plea for Parliament Attack accused Mohammed Afazal, he said law was taking its own course in the matter and the court ordered his execution as part of it.

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