While expressing extreme concern over the rising trend of suicide among farmers in Karnataka, the president of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Karnataka, Muhammad Atharullah Shariff on 1 July demanded the state government to take every possible action to contain the painful phenomenon and solve the issues of farmers. Representatives of the farmers’ fraternity should also be consulted to form government agrarian policies, he suggested.
Mr. Shariff has emphasised that interest-free loans, micro finance system and other modules can be initiated and at the same time a mechanism should be evolved to bail out the poor farmers from the losses due to drastic changes in the seasons, he said. It should also ensure prompt payments to the farmers at the regulated markets and exploitation by middlemen should be checked, he added. Due to some flaws in our system, the government aid does not reach the poor farmers because of their inaccessibility. Usually the benefits reach the influential farmers, he added.
Mr. Shariff has appealed to the farmers to face the odds in the life courageously. Suicide is not the solution rather it adds to the sufferings of their families whom they leave behind. Particularly their women fall easy prey to the anti-social elements and their conditions become worse than before. Instead the farmers should remain steadfast and join hands to get their due share from the state in a democratic way.
The Jamaat leader has also appealed to the economists and policymakers to come out with an alternative to the present interest-based economic system which is the root cause of the entire problem.