Protesting Cotton Farmers Threaten to Disrupt Forthcoming Vibrant Gujarat

Ahemdabad: The cotton farmers of Gujarat have decided to continue their agitation demanding better support price for their crop even as the already under pressure Anandiben Patel government tries to pacify them. These cotton farmers have also threatened to disrupt the forthcoming Vibrant Gujarat summit.

Last week 21-year-old Arvind Nagani of Dharai village burnt himself to death after being pushed to the brink due to low cotton produce.

But the Naganis are not the only ones suffering.

Several farmers feel the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for cotton announced by the government this year is inadequate. They have already hit the streets in protest, not just in Saurashtra but also in Ahmedabad, posing to Chief Minister Anandiben Patel perhaps the biggest political challenge in her six-month long stint.

The ongoing Krishi Mela organised by the state government has also been disrupted by these protesting farmers and the opposition Congress at several places in the state in the last few days.

Another worry for the government is that this continued agitation may help the Congress gain lost ground in Saurashtra in the run up to Panchayat election scheduled for next year.

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"If no adequate compensation package is announced then we will initiate direct action and then the government will realize the strength of farmers agitation," says Gujarat Congress chief Arjun Modhvadiya.

The government has already announced a compensation package of Rs 1100 crore and is further working on farmers demands. "We have set up a three-member committee headed by Cabinet minister Nitin Patel. It will evaluate the situation on ground and submit its recommendations," announced the chief minister.

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Meanwhile, the state government is also trying to convince the Centre to intervene and bail it out of the current crisis