 "Insurance cos denying us our due, farmers tell Rahul Gandhi")
Gandhi this morning launched his 'sanvad yatra' from Gunji village in Maharashtra's Amravati district to highlight farmers' woes and the agrarian situation in the region.
He will be visiting five villages between Gunji to Ramgaon and will meet the farmers who have suffered crop losses due to unseasonal rain as also the families of those who have committed suicide over crop loss.
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Sitting on a jute mat at a temple in Hirapur village, the Congress vice president gave a patient hearing to a group of marginal farmers.
The villagers alleged that "insurance companies were only selecting sample areas for giving compensation while the rest of the farmers were being deprived of the benefits due".
"The insurance companies send their agents who mop up business for foreign giants as an incentive but, ultimately, it is the poor farmer who loses," a villager, Pandurang, complained.
Some of them said that pesticides and fertilisers were being supplied to them at high prices even though the cost of production of such items was quite less.
The villagers also drew Gandhi's attention to the damage the soya crop has suffered in the unseasonal rainfall. Soyabean prices have crashed heavily due to the damages, another farmer said.
Hailing his initiative in opposing the Land Acquisition Bill, 2015, in Parliament, the villagers said they was apprehension that farm land would be acquired for business.
Nearly 171 farmers have committed suicide from 2006 to 2014 in Dhamangaon taluka of the district, the villagers informed the Congress leader.
Under a scorching sun, Gandhi went on foot from village to village. The padyatra saw the participation of a large number of Congress workers, particularly from Youth Congress, waving the party flag, banners and posters.