Children don't want to take up farming seeing our plight: Farmers
New Delhi: Several farmers, who took part at a protest here Friday rued that their children do not want to take up farming seeing their parents plight, as protestors raised slogans to protect "farming legacy".
Dubbed as the largest farmers' protest and congregation in Delhi, around 35,000 farmers, from across India, converged at the Parliament Street police station Thursday after their march was stopped by the administration.
They are in the national capital to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.
Ramaswami Sella Perumal, a farmer from Tamil Nadu, who had undertaken a 36-hour long journey, and was wearing two skulls of his relative who had allegedly committed suicide, said he has two children, who are studying.
"They do not want to become farmers. They see what kind of difficulties we are facing. Many of our farmers have committed suicide. It is saddening that our children do not want to take up something that runs in our family," Perumal said, as he broke into tears.
Mukut Singh, a farmer leader from Uttar Pardesh concurred with Perumal and said their children want to gain good education and a private job.
"Our children want to study well and then get a good job. Even statistics say 40 per cent of farmers have given up farming and our children obviously do not want to take it up because they see how we are fighting for our rights," he said.
A farmer leader from Haryana, Phool Singh Sheokand, said, "Our children are ready to sit in a shop and earn Rs 5000 but they do not want to become farmers. This sentiment is there among the children of many farmers and they cannot be blamed."
Farmer leader BM Singh also spoke about the issue on the stage and even gave the slogan, 'We have to bring our children into farming and ensure that the farming legacy does not die'.
The farmers, social activists and political leaders slammed the Union government alleging that it has not implemented a "single major initiative" for farmers int he past four and half years.
Here they were joined by various political leaders including Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader S Sudhakar Reddy, AAP MP Sanjay Singh and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah apart from Gandhi.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
