People's Democracy

THE farmers of Anantapur district, responding to the call of the CPI(M) state committee, laid siege to the collectorate office of Anantapur district on February 4, as part of a 30-hour picketing action on their various demands. The demands included payment of compensation for loss of groundnut crop and cancellation of loan dues of those families of farmers who committed suicide.

The farmers led by the CPI(M) leaders and workers came in a procession from the Party district committee office to the collectorate office, carrying red flags and shouting slogans. They blocked the main gate of the office by staging a dharna on the road. The staff and officers of the collectorate and other governmental offices in its premises had to go back without attending to their duties. Some officers who were holding a tele-conference meeting with the minister of mines inside the office had to abandon it due to this agitation. Over all the routine work in the collectorate and other offices came to a standstill and the premises wore a deserted look.

The agitating farmers and workers demanded creation of man-days and modification of the crop insurance scheme to help the affected farmers. CPI(M) state secretariat member M A Gafoor, district secretary Obula Konda Reddy and district secretariat member Y Visweswar Reddy were among those who led the picketing.

Other Left parties the CPI, CPI(ML-Janasakti), CPI(ML-Unity Initiative) and SUCI also extended their support to the struggle.

Under the banner of the Warangal district committee of the CPI(M), farmers encircled the district collectorate, demanding the government to immediately stop forced collection of loan dues from the farmers and auctioning of their assets. They demanded the government to complete the works of Sriramsagar project and prevent corruption in the food for work programme.

Demanding the government to solve the problems of the dairy farmers, a dharna was conducted in front of the Visakhapatnam collectorate office on February 4 under the CPI(M) banner. They demanded increase in the reduced price for milk and bonus paid to the farmers by the Visakha dairy. The agitators raised slogans demanding fixation of remunerative prices for vegetables and concessions to the farmers cultivating coffee in tribal areas.