Yet another suicide by a cane grower reported from Lakhimpur Kheri district on Wednesday has propelled the agitation by cane growers engulfing nearly half a dozen districts of the western UP. The woes of the ruling Samajwadi Party and the chief minister Akhilesh Yadav are bound to rise in the days to come.
The body of Chote Lal (45) of Pakaria village in Kheri district was found hanging in his house on Tuesday evening. Chote who has left behind three daughters and two sons was under depression as a local sugar mill in the private sector had not cleared his dues of last crushing season and this year also the crushing had not begun yet.
His family members told the police that Chote Lal ended his life out of frustration and for not being able to repay the loan he had taken from the bank.
The state government on Thursday however said that Chote Lal’s death had nothing to do with his inability to repay the loans, delay in the clearance of dues of the last season and the prevailing depressing scenario in the sugar mills, which is yet to commence crushing.
Before Chote Lal’s death, another farmer Satypal had reportedly committed suicide in the same circumstances and the district administration reacted in a similar manner regarding his death. On his death, BJP chief Rajnath Singh visited his house and assured the family of financial support.
It is not just the deaths of two farmers over sugar crisis that is going to cause trouble to the Akhilesh government but the protests by the cane farmers that is fast spreading in most parts of the western UP.
Today’s agitation was also joined by the major political parties including the BSP and the BJP, while the Congress leaders mostly stayed away from the protests.
The farmers burnt their crops partially in Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Shamli and Lakhimpur district demanding payment of their 2012 dues and hike in the current cane prices.
The agitation by the farmers is likely to be intensified in the days to come as they feel the government has cheated them by striking a deal with the sugar millers , observed senior BJP leader Hukum Singh who hails from Muzaffarnagar district.
The way in which the government has neglected the farmers and announced a series of reliefs to the tune of nearly `879 crore to the sugar millers, it can be seen that the ruling party is siding with the sugar lobby, neglecting the interests of the farming community.
The Opposition, eyeing an opportunity, is fuelling the farmers’ ire against the government and is trying to extract political mileage as the 2014 Parliamentary elections are drawing closer.