Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh
Mahesh Bunkar stood in line for three consecutive days hoping to buy Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NKP) fertilisers for his land. On October 25, a little after noon, the 36-year-old Bunkar from Banyana village in Lalitpur district in Uttar Pradesh, collapsed outside the shop. He was rushed to the district hospital where he died the following day.
“Mahesh was standing in line for three days near Lalitpur’s Galla mandi at a fertiliser outlet. He started coughing up blood around noon and was rushed to the hospital where on Tuesday (October 26), he died,” Khub Chandra, pradhan of Banyana village, told Gaon Connection. Bunkar and his brother farmed on a one and a half acre of land. The deceased farmer leaves behind a wife, two sons and a daughter.
The waiting lines outside the government and private outlets in Lalitpur district selling DAP and NKP fertilisers have got longer and longer. After the relentless rains on October 18 and 19, the farmers queued up to get the fertilisers to prepare their lands to sow the rabi (winter) crops.
Many of them, like Bunkar, had been there for several days. On October 22, Bhogilal, another farmer from Naya village in Lalitpur also collapsed outside a fertiliser outlet. He too had been there for two days when he fell unconscious and was declared dead at the Lalitpur district hospital.
After the rains on October 18 and 19, farmers in Lalitpur were eager to start sowing their rabi crops as the ground was now moist enough and they needed to prepare it with the fertilisers. However, they faced unavailability of the fertilisers at both government and private outlets. There is frustration, outrage and despair amongst the farmers.
Soni Ahirwar, a 40-year-old farmer from Mailwara Khurd village in Lalitpur, is said to have died by suicide, out of despair at not getting fertilisers for his land. His family members said Ahirwar had been visiting the district headquarters everyday for three days to procure DAP, stood each day in the long lines, but had returned home empty-handed. According to local media reports Ahirwar was found dead in his field on Monday night (October 26). The farmer left behind a daughter and a son. His wife had died of cancer some time back.
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The district authorities however deny Ahirwar died by suicide on account of the unavailability of fertilisers. In a statement, Annavi Dinesh Kumar, district magistrate, Lalitpur said, “Other reasons are emerging for the death of the farmer in Mailwara Khurd village. An enquiry is underway. The unavailability of the fertilisers was not the reason for his death,” the district magistrate stated.
The district administration has announced a compensation of million rupees each for the families of the deceased farmers.
No shortage of fertilisers say authorities
On October 26, Ajay Shankar Pandey, divisional commissioner of Jhansi division arrived in Lalitpur. After his meeting with the district authorities a press statement was released. It stated that fertilisers would be made available in the district. A consignment of 1800 metric tonnes of RPK had already left the Mundra port in Gujarat, and had reached Ahmedabad. And 2800 metric tonnes of fertilisers had also left the Paradeep port in Odisha. Another 2800 metric tonnes of fertiliser that was on its way elsewhere was diverted to Lalitpur.”
The press release also assured the farmers that their need for fertilisers will be fully met.
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“There is enough stock of urea, DAP and NKP in the state. There is no shortage of any fertiliser in the state,” Surya Pratap Shahi, state minister for agriculture, declared after a meeting with officials of the agriculture department in Lucknow.
On October 27, the agriculture minister directed the authorities to ensure all fertiliser companies speed up the supply of their allocated quantities of fertilisers. He also said that the districts that faced a shortage of supplies should be addressed on priority, and that no farmer in any district should suffer on account of not being able to source fertilisers, the agriculture minister added.
It was announced in the review meeting with the minister that by October 27, 336,000 metric tonnes of DAP, 191,000 metric tonnes of NPK and 527,000 lakh metric tonnes of phosphate would be made available to the farmers in the state for the rabi season. And, it was assured at the meeting that by November 10, 300,00 metric tonnes of DAP and 50,000 metric tonnes of NPK would be made available to the farmers.
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