A two-day All-India Peasants’ and Agricultural Workers’ Conference began here on behalf of the All India Krushak Khet Mazdoor Sangathan (AIKKMS) on Thursday.
SUCI (C) politburo member Asit Bhattacharya inaugurated the conference, which is conducted by a presidium led AIKKMS central committee member Satyaban. Over 500 delegates from 22 States are participating in the programme.
General secretary of SUCI(C) Provash Ghose would deliver concluding speech on Friday. National charter of demands as well as burning issues pertaining to peasants would be adopted at the conference. Speakers demanded engagement of armed forces for re-acquire of lakhs of hectares of land, which have been forcibly grabbed by multinational companies, steps for checking peasant suicide in Odisha and provision of employments to youths.
“While 4,000 peasants have committed suicide during last 10 years due to loan burden and and distress sale of agricultural produce, over 50 lakh migrant labourers from south and western Odisha have gone out in search of work,” they said. Besides, they demanded adequate irrigation facilities for peasants across the country. They too sought immediate steps to
check price rise of essential commodities and agricultural
implements, seeds, fertilisers and insecticides.
Alleging that the Government have been providing all extending all support to industrialists and capitalist, the speakers lamented that there is yet to have a policy an intra-State water dispute. The Government sales dam and river water to the mines, they alleged furhter.
By the policy of liberalization, privatisation and globalization, the Government has been exploiting peasants and agricultural workers, they said.