Farmers to torch their own fields in Thane

Wada, (Maharashtra), Nov 15: After a farmer committed suicide in Wada taluka, a predominantly tribal area in Thane district, yesterday, farmers have decided to torch their fields in order to draw the attention of the government towards their apathy, here today.

A local farmer, Narayan Pendu, told UNI, ''Out of the 18 acres paddy field that I have, 12 acres was destroyed due to pests and the balance standing crop were destroyed following heavy unseasonal rains and weather conditions. Now, I do not have anything left.

The government has not given me a single penny as relief.'' ''The entire attention of politicians and government agencies is fixed only on Vidharbha and other regions like Konkan suffer silently,'' he said.

He also lamented that even the expenses which he had incurred on the cultivation of crops cannot be recovered now as there was no yield this year.

''Even the urea supplied this season was a spurious one which also contributed to the destruction of the fields. The government and it's agricultural department is to be blamed for this as it failed to monitor the supply,'' he said.

''Hence I have decided to torch my field at 1400 hrs today to escape the cost of cutting the damaged crops and draw the attention of the Government towards our misery, helplessness and apathy,'' he said.

UNI