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A Village Burnt Overnight: Tears, Loss and Survival in Dhamangaon Blaze

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  Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
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Vikhe-Patilwarns of action against Agriculture Deptt staff for ignoring farmers

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Agriculture minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil directing officials of agriculture department during Kharip review meeting on Monday. 



By Dheeraj Fartode

Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil on Monday pulled-up staffers of Agriculture Department for colluding with private seed and fertiliser companies rather than protecting the interest of farmers. The Minister said that farmers are major stockholders in development of nation and Agriculture Department is duty bound to work in their interest. He warned that the staffers who ignore farmers interest should be ready to face the music, in case allegations against them are proved,
Addressing a Kharip review meeting of Nagpur and Amravati Divisions at Soil Conservation Department, the Minister asked officials to pull-up their socks. The officials stated at the meeting that use of pesticides has increased steadily after introduction of BT cotton to which Minister said then who no documentation has been done on use of pesticides. He blasted officers over issue Pubic Private Partnership (PPP) models in agriculture sector as this is directly benefiting the private companies. “Are officers working for private companies and why should farmers bear the cost of PPP model?” the Minister asked for answers from his officials.
Going further, Agriculture Minister cited the PPP example being implemented in Daryapur town of Amravati district, where farmers are bearing cost and company have not contributed for success of the model. He directed the officers to put new clauses in the agreement of future PPP models, wherein input cost should be borne by the companies and not by farmers. “Companies should not profit at the cost of farmers,” he opined.
On the issue of farmers suicide in Vidarbha, Vikhe-Patil said that many smart persons have written books on the issue of farmers suicide and have made money. But no one has till date given any workable solutions on the grave issue. Targeting Agricultural institutions of Vidarbha for not developing beneficial seeds the minister said “Agricultural institutions are doing researching continuously but have miserably failed to provide any good seeds for farmers and hence suicides are continued unabated in Vidarbha region.” He further added that agricultural institutions should have to adopt one village of Vidarbha as model village and ensure that agricultural production there increases.
Director of CICR Dr K R Kranthi, Agriculture Commissioner Umakant Dangat, Rajaram Deshmukh and others were present at the meeting.

BT cotton failed to benefit farmers 

State Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said that he was against introduction of BT in India. “It was noticed that use of fertilisers has increased manifold even after introduction of BT cotton. “Why are BT companies offering hybrid breed?” he questioned. 

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