Loan waiver, free power no lasting solution: Venkaiah Naidu
Pune, June 22 : Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said populist measures such as loan waivers and free power would not provide lasting solution to the distressed farmers in the country and sought timely credit at affordable interest rates besides giving latest know-how to them to improve farm productivity.
Inaugurating a two-day National Consultation on Making Agriculture Sustainable and Profitable in here, he said concerted, coordinated and focused action was required to double the farmers income in the coming years, according to an official statement.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, former Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and renowned agricultural scientist Prof. M.S. Swaminathan were present at the event.
Calling for making agriculture viable, profitable and sustainable to improve the lot of farmers and ensure home-grown food security, he stressed on the need to identify gaps in policy formulation to evolve a multipronged strategy to make agriculture viable, profitable and sustainable was the main purpose of this consultation, the statement said.
"Our policies should be more pro farmer and there should be a pronounced bias towards agriculture," he said, emphasising that the 4 Is - Irrigation, Infrastructure, Investment and Insurance sectors - needed to be strengthened for an integrated development of farm sector.
"It is important to make agriculture sustainable through a judicious use of scarce resources like water, electricity and by avoiding indiscriminate use of fertilizers and pesticides," he said.
Observing that populist programs like loan waivers and free power would not provide lasting solutions, the Vice President said that farmers must be provided timely credit at affordable interest rates.
"Farmers have to be given the latest know-how and trained in the do-how to improve farm productivity," he added.
Naidu said that along with increased production, there was need to have efficient distribution of food grains.
"Only then can we move our country forward to achieve the goal of zero hunger and adequate nutrition for all," he said.
Expressing his concern over the restrictions on export of agriculture produce, Naidu advocated to strike a balance between the interests of farmers and consumers.
Referring to the need to promote diversification of crops, he said that farmers should be encouraged to cultivate high value crops like fruits, vegetables, condiments, pulses, spices and sugarcane.
Naidu also said that it is important to encourage farmers to take up allied activities like poultry, dairy, fisheries and aquacultures to not only enhance farmers income but also to provide a cushion against the adverse impact of failed crops.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for doubling farmer's income by 2022, the Vice President said although many initiatives were taken to boost agricultural growth, there is a need to examine if policy changes are required.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
