Govt. urged to avert suicide by tobacco farmers

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JUNE 18. The Congress(I) has urged the State Government to avert suicides among tobacco growers as was witnessed among cotton farmers two years ago by immediately sanctioning Rs.100 crores for lifting tobacco stocks lying with them.

Viewing with concern the suicide by a tobacco farmer, Ram Mohan Rao, at Nandigama in Krishna district, the APCC(I) president, Mr. M. Satyanarayana Rao, has deputed Mr. Kanna Lakshminarayana, MLA, and Mr. S. Sambaiah, ex-MLA, to console the bereaved family and assess the growers' plight.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, the party spokesman, Mr. K. Keshava Rao, and the former MLA, Mr. M. Kodanda Reddy, warned that the Congress would hold the Chief Minister responsible for any more suicides if he did not safeguard the tobacco farmers' interests.

They felt it was unfortunate that the Central and State Government were turning a blind eye to the growers' problems in spite of numerous representations by the Congress and others. The farmers were furious that nothing had come out of the promises made by the Prime Minister and the Commerce Minister to instruct the State Trading Corporation of India to lift the stocks.

It was the Government's bounden duty to help farmers during times of distress since the nation was earning Rs.5,000 crores through Central excise on tobacco and Rs.1,000 crores in foreign exchange through exports. In effect, the Government was earning a revenue of Rs.500 a kg on tobacco and related products whereas a farmer was getting only Rs.38 to Rs.40 a kg.

Criticising the State Government's attitude to farmers, they said its pious statements were not backed by actions. It had diverted or misused the entire amount of about Rs.59 crores sanctioned by the Centre as subsidy for drip and sprinkler irrigation during the last two years. In contrast, neighbouring Maharashtra had released Rs.190 crores as subsidy to sugarcane and cotton farmers who were willing to go in for drip irrigation.

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