Bharuch: India would not have lost its sheen as a country of farmers if Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had been the first Prime Minister, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, ruing the "poor" national agricultural growth. "The nation is falling behind in agriculture. If 'Khedut Putra' (son of farmer), Sardar Patel had become the first Prime Minister, this would not have happened to our farmers... Somehow, we took the wrong way," Modi said addressing a gathering of farmers at Krishi Mahotsav in Bharuch.
Expressing the need to strengthen agriculture, Modi said India was fast losing its identity as an agricultural nation. "If we have to improve our economy, give jobs to our youth and strengthen our villages then there is no other way apart from strengthening our agriculture," the chief minister said, adding that the development of villages is proportional to the agri growth.
Modi said the need of the hour was to adopt modern technology in increasing the land under cultivation to reverse the scenario of decline in agri growth. "How to integrate technology into farming... That is the need of the hour. Land is not going to increase. What we have to do is (to) increase productivity to cultivate more," he said.
Modi said farmers should employ modern techniques like greenhouse farming, tent-house and polyhouse farming. "We are leading in polyhouse farming," he stressed. The Chief Minister claimed that it was a "historic feat" that Gujarat clocked a double digit (over 10 per
05:31 PM, May 18, 2013
Coimbatore: Farmers in Coimbatore region on Friday threatened that they would resort to mass suicides if government went ahead with its plan to increase power tariff. Representatives of various farmers associations told a public hearing on tariff revision here that the agriculture sector in Tamil Nadu is already in the doldrums due to failure of monsoon and resultant drought. "Any upward revision of tariff will be strongly resisted by all...
03:15 AM, May 18, 2013
The usual dusty small-town India greets us as a small group of people associated with the NGO Caring Friends travel over two-and-a-half days through Aurangabad and Jalna to understand the problems in the region and what help could be given. On the face of it, people seem to be going about their normal life. Where are the signs of distress that we had read in the media? Don't girls and...
11:08 PM, May 06, 2013
New Delhi: In a bid to build consensus over immediate roll-back of wealth tax on agriculture land, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal met leaders of Janata Dal (United), Trinamool Congress (TMC) and AIADMK in Delhi on Monday seeking their support for the cause. Badal, accompanied by his deputy and SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal and MPs Harsimrat Badal and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, met JD-U President and NDA convener Sharad...
12:46 AM, Apr 30, 2013
Jaipur: Launching a scathing attack on the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan, senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje on Wednesday said it had done nothing for the welfare of farmers, women and youths. Addressing a public meeting in Baran district as part of her "Suraj Sankalp Yatra", the state BJP chief described the Gehlot government as "anti-people". It had done nothing to improve the lot of farmers, women, youths and...
03:00 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Mumbai: Maharashtra's Vidarbha region has seen 168 farmer suicides in the first three months of this 2013. Made up of 11 districts, Vidarbha is home to two-thirds of the state's mineral resources and three-quarters of its forest resources. But poverty and malnutrition and endemic. "According to police reports, 168 farmer suicides have been registered till March 31 this year," said Kishor Tiwari, president of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, a...
05:35 AM, Apr 22, 2013
Athens: At least 20 migrant strawberry pickers were shot and wounded in southern Greece in a pay dispute after a foreman opened fire on them with a shotgun, police said. The incident occurred near the village of Manolada about 260 kilometers west of Athens. Police Captain Haralambos Sfetsos said most of the wounded workers were from Bangladesh. He said the shooting occurred when about 200 workers at the strawberry field...
03:16 AM, Apr 19, 2013
Hyderabad: In several districts Andhra Pradesh, the state government has not been able to keep its big promise of 7 hours of free power to farmers, pushing desperate farmers to take matters into their own hands, often with tragic consequences. Chief Minister Kiran Reddy's claim seems far fetched with Andhra Pradesh facing an acute power crisis. CNN-IBN travelled to Medak, where seven hours of free power is a myth, claim...
12:35 PM, Apr 17, 2013
Jaipur: The state government has taken several steps in favour of farmers, including no increase in power tariff for five years, but the opposition BJP has labelled us as anti-farmers, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Saturday. "An important decision of not increasing the power tariff for farmers for five years was taken after the government was formed. Several other decisions including one that of bonus of Rs 150...
12:05 AM, Apr 14, 2013
Saharanpur: BJP president Rajnath Singh on Friday hit out the SP and BSP for extending support to the UPA government saying the two political parties have cheated the people by backing Congress and its allies at the Centre. "Despite their differences with the Congress, both SP and BSP have cheated people by supporting the UPA government," he said in public rally in Saharanpur. "The UPA government does not have the...
02:55 AM, Apr 13, 2013
Rajgarh: Claims by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan that hail-frost affected farmers were compensated are just the opposite from what facts conveyed, Digvijaya Singh alleged in Rajgarh on Friday. "If the government has a strong will, then no power on earth can prevent it from compensating farmers," he said while addressing a protest meeting against delay in distribution of relief to hail-frost affected farmers. Talking to reporters, the...
12:57 AM, Apr 13, 2013
Madhubani: A call centre is proving to be quite a lifeline for farmers in Madhubani in Bihar. It is an initiative by Delhi-based Drishti Foundation and is proving to be central to the economy of agriculture in the region. It is a lifeline for the farmers of the Madhubani district, addressing their queries and problems on farming, seed selection, what fertiliser to use and using new-age techniques. The call centre...
09:56 AM, Apr 10, 2013
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Congress on Friday announced to launch a state-wide 'Jal Adhikar Yatra' against the recently passed Gujarat Irrigation and Drainage Bill which it termed as an "anti-farmer" bill. "From April 10 we will launch a 12-day 'Jal Adhikar Yatra' from Dwarka to Ambaji against the Gujarat Irrigation and Drainage Bill which is not only anti-farmer but also gives arbitrary and draconian powers to government officials," Congress President Arjun...
07:10 AM, Apr 06, 2013
The Congress organised a farmers' rally against The Gujarat Irrigation and Drainage Act 2013 on Tuesday in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. After the rally Congress leaders tried to march towards the Gujarat Assembly but were stopped by police and taken into custody which led to a huge uproar and pandemonium. ...
02:26 PM, Apr 02, 2013
A gang of thieves, fleeing in a vehicle after stealing sheep of a 45-year-old farmer, allegedly ran him over after he tried to stop them in Shamsabad area in Hyderabad on Sunday. M Malaiah, who tried to stop the thieves from escaping in their vehicle, was dragged to some distance after being run over, they said. ...
12:31 AM, Apr 01, 2013
Accusing the Maharashtra government of not being serious about tackling drought in the state, the BJP on Friday announced the party would distribute water tanks in 1,000 villages. ...
06:12 PM, Mar 28, 2013
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has again raised the picth for a third front. Speaking at a rally in Etawah he said, "Congress is an opportunist. Whenever elections are around the congress, they first waiver off loans but after coming to power they cheat the poor farmers. Congress is a party that betrays everyone." But congress leader Digvijaya Singh played down Mulayam's remark by saying that he has the ...
09:05 PM, Mar 27, 2013
Accusing the Congress-led UPA of excessive centralisation of power, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday said states have been reduced to the status of "dignified municipal committees." ...
08:20 PM, Mar 27, 2013
The drought in Maharashtra is more a result of the states colossally corrupt and flawed water policy rather than simply monsoon failure, as experts say. But one village in Hiware Bazaar is showing just how a common-sense water policy goes a long way in mitigating acute water scarcity. ...
04:52 PM, Mar 21, 2013
Maharashtra is reeling under its worst drought in over four decades and the situation in Marathwada region is very severe. In Marathwada farmers had prepared their fields for sowing crops but due to lack of rains and water, all their hard work has been of no use. ...
03:37 PM, Mar 21, 2013
