11 lives lost in Vidarbha as poll code delays relief

The poll code of conduct that withheld the state government from extending immediate relief to farmers in distress took its toll on 11 cotton cultivators in Vidarbha this month.

The local bodies elections currently underway, mandates the state government from not extending new policy measures. As a result, immediate relief through financial institutions has been denied to the farmers in districts reeling under the agrarian crisis, namely in Yavatmal, Washim, Akola, Buldhana, Amravati, Wardha and Bhandara.

The state cabinet had reckoned the urgency to extend the financial package to cotton farmers across state. However, failure to ascertain the quantum of the financial package, coupled with budgetary constraints, saw the government withhold the package. However, the code of conduct made matters worse for the farmers as financial institutions, using the excuse of elections, refused monetary support.

A senior official in the ministry of agriculture, on condition of anonymity, said, "The poll code of conduct is often extended beyond its stated purpose. If any of the financial institutions have denied help to deserving farmers, the matter needs to be probed. We also have to find out the real reasons which may have driven the farmers to take extreme steps to end their lives."