As farmers' woes soar, Maha village seeks to join UP

Mumbai: As Maharashtra was celebrating the 57th year since its formation on Monday, the village of Udatare in Satara district’s demanded, during a gram sabha meeting, that it be considered a part of Uttar Pradesh whose government has “shown sensitivity by waiving off farmers’ loans”.

“If the Maharashtra government is unable to help farmers, it should allow us to come under the Uttar Pradesh government’s jurisdiction,” reads the gram sabha resolution, which was proposed by Udatare resident Kunal Babar (23), who holds a bachelor of science in agriculture degree.

According to the resolution, farmers should be granted a complete loan waiver. Secondly, it asks that farmers get the minimum support price for their crops, which includes the return on investment cost plus 50 per cent. The villagers also demanded the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s report on agriculture in India.

The resolution said that if state government is unable to accept these demands, it should allow the village to be included in Uttar Pradesh.

When contacted by The Asian Age, Mr Babar denied having any political inclination. “We didn’t participate in the Sangharsh Yatra, which is being organised by Opposition parties in state, because we feel that they betrayed us for fifteen years. But we also feel that nothing has changed since new government came to power. Farmers are still committing suicide as they are not getting their dues,” said Mr Babar.

Another villager, Pravin Pawar (50), who is in favour of the resolution, said, “We love our state, but this government does not love us. It has made farmers’ lives painful. We want to catch the people and government’s attention by making such an extreme demand. The government should immediately waive off the loans of all farmers.”

The farm loan waiver is a very sensitive subject in state politics.

With the increasing number of farmer suicides in state, especially in the backward Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, the issue has become a national talking point. While Opposition parties in the state have organised a Sangharsh Yatra across state to voice their demand for a loan waiver, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured farmers of help via various schemes.