Maharashtra: Cotton farmers to take out rally to demand subsidy of Rs 5,000 per quintal

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Cotton farmers will take out a rally in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra on May 18 to demand a subsidy of Rs 5,000 per quintal and financial assistance for the crop growers who suffered losses due to "excessive" rains, a farm activist said on Monday.

In a press release, farm activist Kishore Tiwari said that cotton has been cultivated in record 10.2 million hectares this year as the price of the key textile component had touched Rs 14,000 a quintal last year.

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However, prices dropped to Rs 7,500 per quintal which has forced many debt-trapped cotton farmers to end their lives, he said. This year, 40 per cent of cotton crops got damaged due to "excessive" rains, he said.

Tiwari claimed that 3,300 cotton farmers committed suicide in Maharashtra this season.

To call the attention of the central and state governments, a protest rally of cotton farmers is being organised on May 18 in Pandharkawada (Yavatmal) which is an epicentre of farmer suicides, where unsold cotton will be put on fire, he said.

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The protesting farmers want the government to announce a subsidy of Rs 5,000 per quintal and an economic package, he said. Farm activist Vijay Jawandhia will lead the protest, said Tiwari.

Demanding government intervention, he said cotton is the main cash crop of Maharashtra and it controls the rural and agriculture economy of the state's backward regions.

According to Tiwari, cotton export dropped to 2 million bales from 6 million bales of last year due to the central government's wrong policy and lack of concern for over 2 crore cotton farmers in India.

Attributing the fall in exports to attempts to protect the the interest of textile mill owners, he claimed that there has been a record import of 3 million bales of cotton.

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