Raising serious concern on the most burning and critical issues of current agricultural crisis and farmers suicide, the All India Kishan Sangharsh Samannway Samitee, Odisha will organise a farmers’ convention on November 28 here, on the very first day of the Winter Session of the Assembly.
This was decided in a coordination committee meeting of the Samitee. leaders of nine peasant organizations were present and demanded compensation for crop loss to actual farmers (land owner or sharecropper) as recently declared by the State Government, fixing minimum support price at one and a half times more than the actual production costs, complete loan waiver and grant of new loans without interest, Rs 20 lakh compensation to each farmer’s family who committed suicide due to crop loss, exemption from land cess, irrigation and electricity tax besides exemption of education fee of the children for current year in the areas affected by drought, erratic rainfall and pest attack and supply of seed, organic fertilizer and pesticide free of cost for Rabi crops.
Various peasant organizations also strongly criticized the guidelines adopted to provide compensation to famers by the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) which is followed by the State Disaster Response Fund. They demanded amendment in the guidelines.
The coordination meeting was presided by Asish Kanungo (AIKS) and members like Suresh Panigrahi (OKS), Ashok Pradhan(AIKM), Jyotiranjan Mohapatra and Purnachandra Padhi (AIAKS), Sankar Sahu (AIKKS) Srikant Mohanty (AIKMKS), Narendra Mohanty (Chasi Mulia Surakshya ‘O’ Sangram Parisad were present.