THE All India Kisan Sabha held a consultative meeting of sugarcane farmers to address the different issues faced by these farmers. The meeting was held at BTR Bhavan, New Delhi on July 23, 2014. Around 40 Delegates from eight sugarcane growing states participated in the meeting. AIKS president Amra Ram presided over the meeting. AIKS general secretary Hannan Mollah placed the introductory remarks.

THE AIKS Maharashtra state council meeting that was held at the Comrade B T Ranadive Smarak Bhavan at Belapur in New Mumbai on June 30, 2014 under the chairmanship of AIKS state president Dada Raipure, took the following five major decisions:

1. Organise statewide mass actions from July 8 (Jyoti Basu birth centenary) to July 15 on the grim issue of drought and of compensation to peasants whose crops were destroyed by hailstorms, demanding access to water, food, employment, fodder, seeds and fertilizers, and the waiver of loans, electricity bills and students’ tuition fees;

The All India Kisan Sabha and All India Agricultural Workers Union has in a statement issued on July 14 jointly demanded the Narendra Modi government to immediately withdraw the decision effecting transfer of tribal villages of Khammam district in Telangana to the state of Andhra Pradesh for Polavaram Dam Project. This will adversely affect the rights and livelihood of nearly three lakh tribal people in the region.

THE Narendra Modi led NDA government is going ahead with its plans to gradually finish off the public procurement mechanism in a move which will adversely affect livelihoods of millions of farmers, seriously compromise the food security of the nation as well as mean further increase in food grain prices for the masses. The ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution has issued a letter to states regarding change in policy of procurement for the central pool. This will dismantle even the present weak public procurement as well as the price support system to India’s farmers.