Govt has failed to halt farmer suicides: Sharad Joshi

Nanded, Maharashtra, Oct 10 (UNI) Shetkari Sanghatana leader Sharad Joshi today said both the State government and Union Agriculture Ministry had failed in addressing the issue of farmerMs suicides and demanded the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar should resign from the Cabinet owning responsibility.

Addressing a news conference, on his arrival from Hyderabad, here this evening, Mr Joshi said announcing of packages to prevent the farmer's suicides had failed in Vidarbha (Maharashtra) and Andhra Pradesh and Kerala as the number of suicides had not abated in these regions.

Mr Joshi said the financial aid of Rs one lakh to the next of kin of the farmers, was one of the reasons behind the rising number of suicides.

Regarding Vidarbha, Mr Joshi said it should be declared a separate state by the government for an all round development of the backward region.

Mr Joshi who had chaired a co-ordination committee meet of the Shetkari Sanghatana in Hyderabad said, the unit of the Sanghatana in Andhra Pradesh has decided to stop offering sugarcane to the sugar factories unless their demand of Rs 2,500 per tonne was fulfilled by the factories there.

Referring to the controversial land acquisition by a leading rubber manufacturer in Nanded, Mr Joshi said Shetkari Sanghatana would extend its support to the affected farmers of the land acquisition, which was made 17 years ago and no industry was set up by the industrialist there.

The farmers whose 192 acre land had been acquired for setting up of an industrial unit, are demanding that they be given their lands acquired by the government, since no industry was set up on their land.

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