KOCHI: Sounding a warning to the powers that be, Changanassery Archbishop Mar Joseph Perumthottam on Friday said they will ensure that farmers are elected in the upcoming elections if the government fails to put an end to wild animal attacks and farmers’ suicide.
The archbishop was speaking after inaugurating a farmers’ dharna staged in front of the secretariat to mark the culmination of the Athijeevana Yatra taken out by the Catholic Congress “Plummeting agricultural commodity prices has landed farmers in a debt trap and bank acquisition proceedings are forcing them to take the extreme step. Though farmers have been pleading to fix `250 per kg as the minimum support price for rubber and to take concrete steps to save them from wild animal attacks, the authorities have failed to intervene,” Mar Joseph Perumthottam said.
He said: “If you fail to address the farm crisis, Nava Kerala Sadas will turn into an exercise in futility. A government insensitive to people’s demands signifies the failure of democracy. The government should take concrete steps to resolve the crisis instead of forcing farmers to launch an agitation.”
Thamarassery bishop Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil said they expect the chief minister to declare steps for the development of the agriculture sector at the valedictory function of the Nava Kerala Sadas.