People's Democracy

FARMERS in Warangal, Khammam and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh encircled the offices of market yards in a militant agitation and organised a rasta roko. They were demanding supply of Avunt needed to control boll worm that has affected the cotton crop. The state government had banned Pyrithroids for the first 90 days of the crop, in view of the harmful affects of its use. It was propagated that Tracer and Avunt were effective in controlling boll worm. But both these imported pesticides are not available in the market in adequate quantities. The government decided to market them through notified market yards.

About 2000 farmers in Warangal district gheraoed a pesticide dealer and agitated for the pesticide. Relying on the RDO’s promise to supply the pesticide on coupons, about 6000 farmers, including women in a considerable number, gathered two days later at the local market yard but found that the pesticide stock was quite inadequate to meet their demand. Hence their agitation.

Similarly, farmers in Khammam district gheraoed a pesticide dealer and the local market yard, agitating for Avunt. In view of the tense situation, the police made a heavy bandobust. Officers of the department of agriculture promised to supply the pesticide to the market yard by evening. However, when the officers announced in the evening that the pesticide would be supplied to only six out of the 12 market yards, contrary to their earlier promise, the waiting farmers became restive, encircled the office of the market yard and removed the compound grill. They also resisted the police attempt to lathicharge.

Farmers in Chilakalooripet and Narsaraopet in Guntur district organised a rasta roko, protesting against the sale of Avunt in black market.

In all these three districts, the government has distributed the pesticide to a limited number of farmers only. The A P Rythu Sangham had appealed to the government earlier to take necessary steps for timely supply of the pesticides in adequate quantity to the farmers to control boll worm. However, as the government failed to do so, farmers in the cotton-growing districts had to agitate. Reportedly, some dealers in Warangal and Khammam districts purchased the throw-away tins of the pesticides with a view to filling them up with fake pesticide and sell the same under brand names.