- Thu, 9 Sep, 2010, 11:35 am -

Ranchi: It was a black Tuesday for Madhu Sao. The farmer cultivating Tomatoes had to dump all his produce of over one metric ton as there were no buyers. Waiting anxiously from 5 AM with his mouth watering delicious looking tomatoes fresh from his farm, for the non existing buyer, the visibly upset Madhu Sao was left with no other option than to dump the product on the roads at around 11 AM, after all the buyers had left the wholesale market at Pethoria in Kanke Block of the State capital Ranchi.

The labor, sweat and money put behind the cultivation was mercilessly trampled upon by pedestrians and squeezed under the tyres of the passing vehicles, without even an iota of sensitiveness. All that the ‘down in the dumps’ farmer could do was to be a hapless spectator to the cruelty of fate.

Tears trickled out of his eyes as he cursed the politicians for making sky high promises and not living up to any. He spat venom on the Central Food Processing minister Subodh Kant Sahay for totally ignoring the plight of farmers in the very area from where he was voted to power. He had promised to set up cold storage godowns at all the key points and setting up of food processing units to utilize the agro products cultivated by the local farmers. The minister had not even once bothered to return to the area after being elected. Sao added sarcastically that the minister would definitely turn up with his full entourage to shed crocodile tears when the farmers would be forced to take the extreme step of suicide.

The tomato and other vegetable farming are mostly done by the Sao clan in the Pethoria area. Kisum Sao’s fate was no different from that of Madhu. He too was very bitter about the apathy being shown by the politicians for the development of farmers. He had utilized 2 acres of his farming land for the cultivation of tomatoes. By god’s grace the crop was a bumper one and had aroused hopes of better days ahead. On the contrary the exact opposite happened and he has not been able to recover even 20% of his investment. His wife Usha Devi was not sure they would cope up with the situation in the coming days and whether their children would get even a square meal a day.

Hasum Ansari was dreading the day when the loan sharks would come for repayment of the loans taken by him for the crop.

This is not the first time that such a situation has arisen. Even in the past such scenes were witnessed. There was a ray of hope after the formation of a separate State but the instability hovering large on all the governments till date has not helped the case of these poor farmers. All they have been receiving is only promises and assurances. The drought situation in the State has also added to the woes of these farmers and the politicians only politicizing the issue rather than finding apt solutions.

State Agricultural Ninister Mathura Prasad Mahto has once again given the assurance that proper remedial steps would be taken to improve the infra-structural necessities of the farmers and cold-storage godowns readied at all key points. The State would also set up marketing centres at all districts to provide suitable market support to the farmer’s yields. He had promised the action on this from this year itself. Food Processing Minister Subodh Kant Sahay was unavailable for his comments.

- P. Vijay Raghavan

Picture: Mahadeo Sen