Jan Manch asks for Nagpur winter session to be cancelled over drought, funds to go to farmers

Citing drought conditions in Maharashtra, Jan Manch has demanded that this year's winter session in Nagpur be cancelled. The organisation says the session costs crores of rupees, and that the money should be saved and given as relief to drought-hit farmers.

Jan Manch has appealed to the government to deposit the relief amount directly in farmers' bank accounts. It has also demanded that a relief package be announced for drought-affected farmers.

According to Jan Manch president Adv Manohar Radke and other office-bearers, the drought situation in the state has become serious because of deficient rain this year. The organisation claims that in many parts of Maharashtra the conditions are more worrying than in the drought of 1972.

Jan Manch said there was not enough rain in August and September. This has badly hit kharif crops in different parts of the state, including Vidarbha and Marathwada. Major crops such as soyabean, cotton, tur, urad, moong and gram are on the verge of drying up or being destroyed. According to the organisation, farmers' incomes have fallen and the village economy is under strain.

Referring to the Nagpur Agreement, Jan Manch said an assurance had been given that the winter session would be held in Nagpur for six weeks. According to the organisation, over the past few years the duration of the session has shrunk to just one to two weeks.

The organisation said that, given the present drought, the session should be cancelled this year and its expenditure spent on relief for farmers. Jan Manch described this as a way to get financial help to farmers quickly.

According to Jan Manch, the failure of the kharif season has left not only farmers but also labourers who depend on farm work facing financial hardship. With less work available in the fields, their livelihoods have been affected. The organisation said that at such a time, farmers and village families need money urgently.

General secretary Adv Shekhar Surjuse, along with Naresh Kshirsagar, Prahlad Kharsane, Arvind Patil, Pramod Pande, Rajiv Jagtap and other office-bearers, has also pressed the demand.