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In Digital India, Maha employs archaic method to 'aid' farmers

Affected farmers clicked with slate like criminals

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Farmer Pravin Gaikwad (Left) holds a slate with his loss details, like criminals are made to do (right)
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For all the talk of Digital India, after farmers in districts like Jalna and Osmanabad lost their crop in the unseasonal hailstorm and rain, the assessment officers photographed them with slates displaying their name and crop details, like the police does to history sheeters and criminals. Barely ten days ago, incessant spells of hailstorm destroyed Rabi crops and orchards spread over 2.90 lakh hectare in the state and the state's actions are to award compensation, but they have angered the agrarian community.

Opposition parties, expectedly, expressed shock and surprise and accused the government of treating the affected farmers like criminals.

"Are the farmers impacted due to hailstorm criminals? Is the government out of its senses? This is a government that talks about Digital India and is using such archaic methods to disburse compensation," said Ashok Chavan, state Congress chief.

"Our party delegation after visiting the hailstorm affected areas met the collector of Jalna district and have requested him to stop this humiliating assessment," he added.

"The government should immediately stop this panchanama process. BJP government has lost the people's trust. If they will not stop criminalising the farmers, the day is not far when the farmers will give the slate in BJP minister's hands. They are treating the farmers like thieves," said Dhananjay Munde, Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra State Council.

In another incident, the collectorate officials asked the farmers to transport their dead cattle and chicken to the tehsil office to conduct post-mortem in order to get compensation for dead animals.

Said Vijay Lahane, a marginal farmer from Marathwada, "I lost a lot of my livestock in the hailstorm. The local authorities asked me to transport all the dead animals to the government hospital in town to conduct the post-mortem to be eligible for compensation. I am truly distraught as I am baffled by these complex government procedures."

"The amount to transport the animals is an additional burden to the already beleaguered farmer. The authorities have not factored in that at all. The government needs to give clear instructions about the process of compensation," said Congress State President Chavan.

State Agriculture Minister Pandurang Fundkar said he will seek more information over the humiliation reports, and then take action accordingly. If the assessment is being done in this criminal manner, then it will be immediately stopped. I have instructed the secretary to promptly initiate action," he said.

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