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Caught in debt trap, Rajasthan farmers try to sustain
Jaisalmer, June 09: With parched lips and folded hands they look at the sky for rain gods to quench the thirst of their barren land and release them from the debt trap which has put their subsistence in danger.
Jaisalmer, June 09: With parched lips and folded hands they look at the sky for rain gods to quench the thirst of their barren land and release them from the debt trap which
has put their subsistence in danger.
Agriculture and cattle rearing, the mainstay of
Rajasthan's economy lies in tatters with rain evading this
desertland for more than five years now and leaving both the
farmers and state government with empty coffers.
The severe drought has not only paralysed the state's economy and made the government take a hefty loan of Rs 1000 crore from National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development but also forced the poor farmers to borrow huge sum of money to support their families.
Sujay Khan, a farmer in Devikot a small hamlet in Jaislamer district took a loan of Rs 35,000 from Bank of Baroda to purchase cattle. For availing the services of bank he had to get his cattle insured from United India Insurance Company Limited.
His hopes of repaying the loan dashed as monsoons failed and the entire district faced a severe shortage of fodder. The traditional migration to neighbouring states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh could not take place as they were faced with similar situation.
His cattle succumbed to harsh weather and botulism, a disease caused by severe shortage of phosphorus in the body. When he wrote to the insurance company asking for compensation his application was turned down. The Technical loopholes sighted by the insurance company were so severe that even the lawyer which this poor, illiterate man hired paying Rs 2000 could not win the case for him in the consumer court.
"Stating that tags were not present on the body of the dead animal, the insurance company turned down his application," Dr Lal Singh, deputy director animal husbandry said adding, the sheeps and goat which khan bought were tagged by me. But as these animals venture into the pasture land they are bound to lose the tags.
It is true that Khan's cattle had died due to botulism as these animals had started feeding on carcass of dead animal to meet their phosphorus requirements, but the insurance company is not ready to take this theory and says that the dead animal for which the compensation has been sort for did not belong to Sujay Khan.
"As per 1997 cattle census there are 25 lakh cattle heads in Jaisalmer district out of which 3,66,998 have been affected by drought," Singh said and added Sujay Khan had purchased sheep and goats which don't fall under the famine code. No fodder could be made available to his cattle unlike the Rs 12 subsidy made available in the state for the upkeep of large animal and Rs 6 for small animal," Singh said.
N C Soni, branch manager of Bank of Baroda says, "we are well averse with the condition of these poor animals but we are bound by our duty so we have to send henchmen to retrieve the loan."
The terms and conditions of the insurance company are so stringent and harsh that these illiterate farmers easily fall prey, says Soni. Bureau Report
The severe drought has not only paralysed the state's economy and made the government take a hefty loan of Rs 1000 crore from National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development but also forced the poor farmers to borrow huge sum of money to support their families.
Sujay Khan, a farmer in Devikot a small hamlet in Jaislamer district took a loan of Rs 35,000 from Bank of Baroda to purchase cattle. For availing the services of bank he had to get his cattle insured from United India Insurance Company Limited.
His hopes of repaying the loan dashed as monsoons failed and the entire district faced a severe shortage of fodder. The traditional migration to neighbouring states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh could not take place as they were faced with similar situation.
His cattle succumbed to harsh weather and botulism, a disease caused by severe shortage of phosphorus in the body. When he wrote to the insurance company asking for compensation his application was turned down. The Technical loopholes sighted by the insurance company were so severe that even the lawyer which this poor, illiterate man hired paying Rs 2000 could not win the case for him in the consumer court.
"Stating that tags were not present on the body of the dead animal, the insurance company turned down his application," Dr Lal Singh, deputy director animal husbandry said adding, the sheeps and goat which khan bought were tagged by me. But as these animals venture into the pasture land they are bound to lose the tags.
It is true that Khan's cattle had died due to botulism as these animals had started feeding on carcass of dead animal to meet their phosphorus requirements, but the insurance company is not ready to take this theory and says that the dead animal for which the compensation has been sort for did not belong to Sujay Khan.
"As per 1997 cattle census there are 25 lakh cattle heads in Jaisalmer district out of which 3,66,998 have been affected by drought," Singh said and added Sujay Khan had purchased sheep and goats which don't fall under the famine code. No fodder could be made available to his cattle unlike the Rs 12 subsidy made available in the state for the upkeep of large animal and Rs 6 for small animal," Singh said.
N C Soni, branch manager of Bank of Baroda says, "we are well averse with the condition of these poor animals but we are bound by our duty so we have to send henchmen to retrieve the loan."
The terms and conditions of the insurance company are so stringent and harsh that these illiterate farmers easily fall prey, says Soni. Bureau Report