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© Danish
Ismail / Reuters
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Over 25,000 farmers in
India have sought permission from their president to commit suicide on
Independence Day, report local media. The move was sparked by the government’s failure
to pay the farmers for land lost to the construction of the Gokul Barrage. The farmers wrote in a letter to President
Pranab Mukherjee that they would either hang themselves or commit self-immolation
on August 15 if the government fails to act.
“We have lost all and want to end our lives. We want the president’s permission,” said farmer Roop Singh, as quoted by NDTV. Another farmer, Kisan Sangh, accused the government of ignoring the farmers’ interests.
“We have lost all and want to end our lives. We want the president’s permission,” said farmer Roop Singh, as quoted by NDTV. Another farmer, Kisan Sangh, accused the government of ignoring the farmers’ interests.
RT
report continues:
Farmer
Kishan Bahadur echoed those sentiments, stating:
“We
demand compensation for the land acquired from us years ago for construction of
Gokul Barrage. We are left with no land to grow food for children and are
forced to do petty jobs,” The Times of India reported.
Other
media reports say the farmers are seeking compensation because the land became
submerged when water levels in the barrage rose.
Regardless,
farmers have been fighting for 17 years to receive compensation from the
government for the lost land. They have also been on a relay fast for the past
two weeks to highlight their demands.
According
to the International Business Times, following the suicide threat, Mathura
district magistrate Rajesh Kumar reportedly said the “state government is ready
to pay four times extra compensation to the farmers. We have already submitted
our files. The funds will be released soon.”
A report from NDTV said
that a decision from the Allahabad High Court is likely in a few days, and that
around 30 farmers have been identified as deserving of compensation.
In November 2014, more than 50 people were arrested while staging a demonstration over the Gokul Barrage issue after allegedly defying police by holding a meeting to mobilize the farmers.
Farmer suicides are fairly common in India. Over 40 committed suicide at the beginning of the year in Mathura, following unseasonal rains that destroyed their crops. Thousands of others have taken their lives in recent decades, due to drought and inadequate government measures.
In November 2014, more than 50 people were arrested while staging a demonstration over the Gokul Barrage issue after allegedly defying police by holding a meeting to mobilize the farmers.
Farmer suicides are fairly common in India. Over 40 committed suicide at the beginning of the year in Mathura, following unseasonal rains that destroyed their crops. Thousands of others have taken their lives in recent decades, due to drought and inadequate government measures.
Gokul Barrage Compensation: Farmers Begin
Relay Fast
Press Trust of India reports:
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Gokul
barrage compensation: Farmers begin relay fast.
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Farmers of Damodarpura village who have been
demanding compensation for their land inundated due to construction of Gokul
barrage on Friday started a relay fast here.
Six men and six women began the relay hunger
strike. "It will continue till the innocent people who have been jailed
after the November 1 incident are released and compensation to the farmers is
distributed," Samrat Singh, the convener of the hunger strike, said.
Daily a dozen farmers will sit on relay fast,
he said. At least 18 people including five policemen were injured when hundreds
of farmers, protesting against non-payment of compensation for their land, held
a protest on November 1 during which they clashed with police and torched two
buses.
The villagers claimed that
owing to faulty design of the barrage, around 1,000 acres of farmland have got
submerged in water, but the authorities did not compensate the 1,500 farmers
for their loss. 
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