The Hindu Business Line : M.P.'s farmers and their electricity woes

MANGELAL Verma is a sanchalak (a trained farmer who acts as a service provider to fellow farmers) at one of ITC's e-choupal at Kakarkheda village, about 45 km from Bhopal. The last few km journey to his village is a backbreaking one as the road is full of potholes and trenches.

He is all excited about our visit and ready to demonstrate to us how the concept of e-choupal works; how he uses the computer and Internet to help farmers in his and a few other surrounding villages to find out the procurement price of soyabean that day.

But within minutes of entering his house, the bijli (electricity), which has just come on, disappears. The computer of course has a UPS back up, but Verma is not amused. "The BJP came to power promising us the moon and had assured the farmers that they'll get six hours of regular power supply every day... . But we are lucky if we manage to get even two hours a day," says the angry man.

He is cut up that in "big cities you people have glittering lights for 24 hours... . 20 per cent of the population has this privilege while 80 per cent of the population... the poor farmers who slog day and night to plough the land and make it fertile so there is enough food for the entire country, are treated as though they do not matter."

Matadin Verma, another farmer at a nearby village - Bhavkhedi - is unsparing in his scathing criticism of the BJP. "We farmers were fools to listen to their promises of giving Madhya Pradesh a better Government... and of giving our villages bijli, pani and sadak. After all what can you expect from the BJP which is a party of the baniyas?" he fumes. The Congress-I, on the other hand, has always helped farmers, he says.

When you wonder if he is a traditional Congress supporter, Ghulab Singh, the sanchalak of the Bhavkhedi e-choupal quips, "No, no, he does not support any party. He is telling the truth when he says that the BJP has done nothing for the farmers."

So what about the tall promises made by the Manmohan Singh Government in Delhi?

Mangelal has a quick answer, "They have done nothing either for the farmers. All that politicians say never goes beyond announcements. When it comes to implementation, they all take us for a ride."

Coming to the question of what the Indian farmer wants, it is not much. Power supply at least for eight hours, decent roads and schools where the teacher turns up and concentrates on teaching.

Taking the last first, Mangelal explains why he sends all his three children to a private school, paying a steep fee of Rs 100 a month. Surprisingly, his biggest complaint is on the noon meal scheme. "The mistake the Government has made is to give cooked food to the children. Right from the morning, the teacher, instead of worrying about teaching the children, is more bothered about whether the dhal has been boiled, if there is enough salt in the vegetables and things like that. And the children's attention is on the food and not on their books. Go to any Government school in a village and you'll find children peeping into the kitchen all the time asking, `Khana pak gaya?' (Is the food ready?) And after eating the heavy lunch they start dozing off in class."

Deepak Sharma, the ITC employee who co-ordinates the activities at the choupal, helping the farmers to get the required agricultural inputs including information, quips, "The problem is that everybody from the village sarpanch to the teacher is only bothered about the noon meal scheme... the sarpanch, instead of concentrating on the development of the village spends a lot of time in organising the meal... of course some money making is involved here. The earlier practice of giving foodgrains to every child's family was much better."

When you say that this might result in discrimination of the girl child who has proverbially been given less nutritious and wholesome food in Indian villages, compared to the boys, there is immediate protest.

While Mangelal says he treats his daughter as an equal to his two sons, Deepak adds, "What you are saying was true several years ago. But things are changing; farmers ... at least in these villages, treat their daughters very well." He adds that dowry is not excessive and female foeticide is not practiced here.

So is Mangelal worried about the dowry for his daughter?

"Not at all. Sure I will have to give some dahej... but I'll give it because I want to give something to my daughter and not because somebody will put a gun to my head and say give me so much money or gold."

(To be concluded)

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