Manavi Deopura
09.03.2010
Chandrasekhar Durlikar, a cotton-grower from Dorli, is resentful of visiting politicians who whistle-stop at Dorli during election time but otherwise turn a blind eye to their problems
As farmers in Vidarbha grapple with the aftermath of the worst drought year 2009, and demand for compensation, the farmers in Dorli, Wardha are strictly disenchanted with the promises of the government and the VIP politicking. Government incompetence has led them to completely lose faith in the governance, including even the pre-electoral sops promised to them.
Irate farmers claim that Gopinath Munde who had promised power supply and full loan waivers to the indebted farmers while canvassing in Wardha before the Lok Sabha elections last year, didnt make his promise good. Nor did any of the previous visits by political big shots like Rahul Gandhi and Vilas Rao Deshmukh (2005). “They do not know cotton from soyabean. And they claim they will turn our fortune around. They simply come, tour the place and go back,” says Chandrasekhar Durlikar, cotton grower from Dorli. The village wells have dried up and irrigation is nowhere to rescue these largely rain-fed farms.
Before the last elections, in 2004, the government promised the farmers Rs. 2500 as compensation which included the minimum support price as well as additional price. The sop came as the era of Monopoly Cotton Procurement Scheme ended in 2004. But the government stopped giving the additional price. It decided to let market forces come into play for rate appreciation of cotton crop which later became a flashpoint between farmers and the government.“To win our votes, they come and lure us with the promise of water. It is part of their public image building and political gimmickry. The moment they turn their back, they forget about it,” Durlikar says, adding that to show their anger, the villagers do not offer water to any visiting politician as part of their protest.
Inaction has led many to turn cynical about not just the politicians’ visit but with the reportage of journalists and farmers’ groups too. “People come and report about our problems but why do we not see any change? Farmer’s organisations like Sharad Joshi’s Shetkari Sanghatana have remained too obsessed with their political goals to do something substantial for farmers,” another farmer Vijay Narlikar says.
The promised water, power and compensations have not yet been delivered. The erratic rains do not help any. Farmers claim that the cheaper non-Bt seeds are not easily available anymore as Bt has swept the market. An example of diversion of funds was pointed out by a farmer, “The government has spent crores of rupees planting teak trees here and they have all died or dried up,” the farmers point out.
Dorli has a population of 300-odd people who own 600 acres of farm land. But this year none of the farmers received over 50 kg of yield per acre but five years back when the rains were good, they produced double that amount. The farmers claim that loan waivers would not solve their problems. Irrigation facilities would. But nobody seems to bother. Since liberalisation, the farmers are left to compete not just with each other and the richer, well-irrigated western belt of Maharasthra, but also cotton produce from Europe and the US.
Dorli, however, has not seen any farmer suicides. The farmers are holding their own. “We aren’t the kind to give up and commit suicide,” Durlikar says, even as he sees no hope in the administration or delivery process.
