Sunday story: In the Mahadayi basin, the farmer rises... & a new political voice
The cry for justice and the crusade for their pride and better prices, which once resounded across the Gangetic plain with the venerable Jat leader, the late Mahendra Singh Tikait, leading the charge, is creating ripples in Karnataka too. Farmers, in hundreds and thousands who are tired of waiting and waiting for the water to flow into their canals from the Mahadayi river via the Kalasa Banduri Nala, have said enough is enough and launched a political party of their own. They are yet to emerge as a formidable force but they could steal the thunder from mainstream parties like the BJP and Congress by cutting into their vote banks. With the battle in the Assembly polls, now barely three months away, sure to go down to the wire and a fractured mandate looming, upsetting the calculations in a handful of seats is all the farmers need to do to prove that they cannot be taken for a ride anymore. Much water has flowed under the bridge ever since the foundation stone was laid for the Kalasa Banduri project after a comprehensive report in 1960. The recommendation of a committee headed by Karnataka's first woman MP, Sarojini Mahishi to divert the stream's water to Malaprabha dam, was kept in abeyance primarily due to political games played by the Congress and BJP with an eye on their vote banks. But then came the droughts, one after the other and the dire necessity for water to keep the crops alive in the 13 taluks spread across four districts and soon, a minor protest by the farmers turned into a mass movement. The BJP and Congress had managed to keep their vote banks intact in the region during the last few elections in the absence of a third political force which could have capitalised on their failures to resolve the Mahadayi dispute. But the die has now been cast and farmers have floated their own political outfit with a single-point agenda - to get Mahadayi water after their attempt to tame national parties through NOTA (none of the above) failed to yield results in the panchayat polls. With no well oiled machinery or massive infusion of funds to fight the electoral battle, leaders of the Jana Samanyara Paksha are obviously at a disadvantage but the moot question is whether they will be able to win the hearts of the masses. VITTAL SHASTRI analyses the fast changing scenario in the arid fields of north and central Karnataka where the warriors of a new political outfit, espousing the cause of farmers with the cry for Mahadayi water on their lips, has already set off jitters in the political class
Dressed in a white khadi dhoti and shirt with Barakolu – a stick to cane the bullocks – over his shoulder, sixty-two year-old farmer leader Vijay Kulkarni draws the attention of everyone as he walks through the narrow lanes in his native hamlet Chikka-Naragund of Nargund taluk in Gadag district. He wears a yellow scarf around his neck which represents the ‘flag of North Karnataka’, which he hoisted a few years ago to vent his ire against the lackadaisical attitude of politicians to resolve the Mahadayi water dispute with Goa.
Nicknamed Kalasa-Banduri Ajja, he is a father figure for all sections of people in the region and is now ratcheting up support for his fledgling party with the Assembly polls round the corner. Garnering confidence from his presence, hundreds of drought-hit farmers poured out their woes before this correspondent when he visited the village.
Fifty-seven-year-old farmer Shekappa Hooli narrated the ordeal of searching for a bride for his son who has done his graduation. His 31-year old son has not got a bride despite visiting more than 55 houses over the last eight seven years because his family is into farming! Several such victims of the agrarian crisis are leading solitary lives in the village as they have crossed the marriageable age with the drought showing no signs of relenting.
Sensing that they have no future in agriculture and could face the same plight as their parents, many youngsters are rushing elsewhere in search of corporate and government jobs. “I was offerred a bride along with hefty dowry when I got married at a young age. Parents of prospective brides used to line up at my door as I had 14 acres of farm land. Those good days are gone, we have been waiting and waiting for the diversion of the Kalasa Banduri stream to Malaprabha river that will ensure water to the tail-end farmers. In its absence, the irrigation canals dry up throughout the year except for 2-3 weeks when water is released for drinking purposes,” said Shekappa Hooli.
Kulkarni recollected several instances when he had to intervene and persuade families to give their brides to farmers of the parched region. Hundreds of farmers are now repenting returning to their village after resigning their government jobs under the voluntary retirement scheme(VRS) to take up farming in the 1980s after construction of the Malaprabha reservoir and irrigation canals. With the Supreme Court banning any construction activity on the Kalasa Banduri canal, they find it difficult to give drinking water to even their guests in summer.
The cattle too have disappeared and all that every household has are farm loans running into lakhs of rupees. They do not get compensation for crop loss and farm insurance as their farm land falls under an irrigation belt though no water has flowed into the canals for decades!
Drawing inspiration from the death of his farm labourer Veerappa Kadlikoppa, who was killed in police firing during the farmers rebellion demanding abolition of betterment levy in 1980, Kulkarni threw himself into the Mahadayi agitation. He leased out his 50 acres of farmland to devote himself to the movement as his son too was away, employed in an automobile company. Many political bigwigs, including former CM Jagadish Shettar and Dharwad MP Pralhad Joshi, rose to fame rubbing shoulders with him during these struggles but the project has remained a dream.
Mahadayi
What pains him more is the fact that leaders like Basavaraj Bommai and H.K. Patil were baptized in these struggles but failed to do much for the project after becoming water resource ministers.
Kulkarni has not contested any polls but ensured nearly a lakh NOTA votes in the region through a widespread awareness campaign in the previous Zilla Panchayat elections. Dwelling on the prospects of the Jana Samanyara Paksha, he admits he is still unsure of the impact it will have on national parties which have unabashedly flaunted their caste and money power in the past to win over voters. The Congress and BJP leaders have their farmers wing too and are hoping to neutralise the impact the new party will have. At the other end, farmer leaders are confident that their candidates will play spoilsport for the Congress and BJP if there is a close contest between the national parties in around 20 Assembly seats coming under the Malaprabha river basin. And one of those most likely to suffer if there is a three-way split of votes is former CM and BJP leader Jagadish Shettar who was never considered a mass leader in the region.
Will the clamour for Lingayat religion status, drown out the voices of the farmers for their own identity? Prominent politicos like M.B. Patil, Basavaraj Horatti and Vinay Kulkarni have plunged into the struggle for the religion tag for Lingayats and are confident that farmers will not vote as a single bloc as they belong to the pro and anti-Lingayat factions. The fact that the JD(S), which had won the Navalgund seat last time, has failed to emerge as an alternative political force, has made them supremely confident that they can give the Congress and BJP a run for their money.
But polls are not for Vijay Kulkarni. “I will not contest elections until completion of the Kalasa Banduri project though there is pressure on me to contest from Nargund. I will only extend support to candidates fielded by the Jana Samanyara Paksha as the party has assured that it will mobilise Rs 20 crore to take up the project on its own. I am also ready to support any party which promises to implement the project within a month,” he said.
There have been leaders like Tikait and Sharad Joshi of the Shetkari Sanghatana who could make farmers come alive with their slogans and struggles for a better morrow for India's heartland and make the sweat roll down many an ambitious politico's neck. In Karnataka, where caste and money power are the biggest divisive factors overriding everything else, it remains to be seen if Vijay Kulkarni and the Jana Samanyara Paksha can really alter the fate of candidates of mainstream parties.
Or is Karnataka witnessing a churning at the grassroots with resentment growing against the ever smiling politico who arrives in the nick of time, before the polls, to flaunt his wares and his wealth? Is the protest before the BJP office in Bengaluru a few weeks ago, which created ripples across the country, an indication of more such struggles in the making? Only time and the EVMs can tell the real story.
Mahadayi: Where the fortunes of two states are intertwined
The Mahadayi originates in Khanapur taluk of Belagavi district and flows 35 km in Karnataka and 52 km in Goa before emptying itself in the Arabian Sea. Farmer leaders claim Karnataka is entitled to get 57 tmc water of the total 200 tmc flowing in the river. The Kalasa Banduri project involves building barrages across Kalasa and Banduri streams, the two tributaries of the Mahadayi to divert 7.56 tmc of water to Malaprabha river to resolve drinking water scarcity. The project will benefit 13 taluks in four districts in the Mumbai-Karnataka region. Though clearance was received from the Centre in 2002, due to objection raised by Goa which claimed the project would affect its flora and fauna, it has been stalled. The Centre has constituted a tribunal to resolve the deadlock with its verdict expected soon.
Farmers unity and awareness the key: Soppin
Deccan Chronicle spoke to farmer leader Vikas Soppin, who has decided to contest against former CM Jagadish Shettar in Hubballi-Dharwad Central Assembly constituency on the Jana Samanyara Paksha ticket. Here are excerpts:
Is there a necessity for a political party to work for farmers when other parties have their own farmer wings?
I think it is a good move to launch a political outfit for this. Merely
contesting elections is not politics. Polls are just a small part of
politics. Mahadayi farmers should not be branded as only protesters, they can also enter politics to fulfill their long-pending demands. All farmer organisations should be brought on a single platform and to attain unity, we want to strengthen the new party, Jana Samanyara Paksha. (JSP)
Can a farmer candidate win against the dominant Congress and BJP?
It's difficult to fight against the Congress and BJP which are dominant in the region. But, we have to overcome the challenges posed by them. Around 15 to 20 per cent people may fall prey to their inducements. But the majority of voters will cast their votes based on the pro-poor agenda of the parties. Therefore, we should create awareness about the plight of farmers in the region.
How can a new party fight polls based on the single agenda to bring Mayadayi water to Karnataka?
The Jana Samanyara Party should not fight polls based on a single agenda when other parties attract people with a lot of promises in their manifesto. The JSP should fight on the broader plank of rural development and for resolving the Mahadayi issue because villages are productive while cities are only consumer and service oriented. The move to give a fillip to the irrigation sector by finding a solution to the water dispute will help curb migration from rural areas.
Are you confident about the preparedness of JSP with Assembly polls just a few months away?
It is a tough task to make preparation in 2-3 months but it is not impossible. Drought-prone farmers want change and are looking for good things to happen as the Congress and BJP have failed to fulfill their promise to resolve the Mahadayi issue.
