Condition of UP farmers is ‘really bad’: Yogendra Yadav
KANPUR: Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Yogendra Yadav, who is on a tour of drought-hit states, said the condition of farmers of Uttar Pradesh was ‘real bad’.
Yadav, who currently heads the non-political group Swaraj Abhiyan, said he was surprised to see the plight of UP farmers hasn’t drawn attention of the media as compared to their counterparts in Maharashtra who he observed were better than the former.
Yadav said he would call on chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and submit a copy of the study.
“We cannot help them (farmers) but can assess and present their true condition to the governments,” said Yadav while leading his Samvedna Yatra in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.
The yatra that began on October 2 is passing through drought-affected regions of seven states. Yadav met farmers in Bighapur-Achalgunj in Unnao before entering Kanpur. He would also visit villages in Kanpur Dehat.
He, however, refused to take political questions and said his objective was different altogether.
Yadav said he seeks to understand and highlight the alternative models of dealing with drought-like situations. The yatra, his group members said, was an effort to draw the attention of people and the government alike towards the disaster.
Farmers in Uttar Pradesh had faced a double whammy in the past one year. First unseasonal rains in winters destroyed 60 to 70% of crop in 87,748 hectares of land in Kanpur alone. A total 4.24 lakh farmers were badly affected.
Then the city received 42.2% less rainfall—worst since 1974. While the maize crop dried up, 60% of paddy crop was hit by rain deficiency.
Monsoon is down by 14% this year and 295 districts covering 39% land area of the country have experienced severe or drastic shortfall in rains,” said Kuldeep Saxena of Swaraj Abhiyan, Kanpur. The yatra that began from Telangana would pass through regions of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana and Yadav would hold ‘chaupals’ or village meetings to access the crisis.
We cannot help them (farmers) but can assess and present their true condition to the governments YOGENDRA YADAV, leader, Swaraj Abhiyan