Real action plan

November 20, 2009 08:21 am | Updated 08:23 am IST

This has reference to the article “An action plan for the future’ (Nov. 19) by Mohan Dharia. No doubt, all natural resources — including manpower — in India can be fully developed as we are a country of villages and nation of farmers. People mainly migrate to cities to earn a living. Since villagers are unaware of various technologies for enhancing the agricultural yield, they seek jobs in cities in the face of adversity. The government, therefore, is duty-bound now to support a reverse migration to strengthen agriculture, the backbone of our economy. Only then can the former President, Abdul Kalam’s cherished dream of India emerging as a superpower by 2020 come true. Otherwise, the slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” will merely decorate school textbooks.

Reshma Raj,

Chamarajanagar

* * *

Mohan Dharia’s was a true account of real India. What those who migrate from rural India get is but a life full of misery — they end up living in slums causing problems for themselves as well as for the government. Here is an appeal to the people of rural India not to migrate towards cities.

At the same time, will the Government of India start developing satellite cities adjoining metros and make arrangements for shifting industries which are dependent on raw material from rural areas? This will not only decrease the slum areas but also keep our country clean.

Santosh Kumar Bhaskar,

Puducherry

* * *

It is not just plan but political will that is required to provide basic amenities to our villages and over-populated towns and cities. Funds that flow from government get evaporated before they reach their destination. We would have created hundreds of Singapores had our bureaucrats and politicians been honest.

Deepa. S. Ganiger,

Bangalore

* * *

It is very unfortunate that the Gandhian principle of developing the rural India has been misunderstood and misinterpreted, resulting in the impoverishment of villages and the enrichment of cities. The migration from villages to cities is so alarming that we are not able to find enough labour to work in farmlands. Added to this misery is the shrinking of cultivable land fast replaced with housing and industrial projects. Villages could emerge as excellent centres of organic farming and thereby help to maintain the environment and ensure better health for the people.

It is high time the government took concerted efforts to make villages centres of excellence. This will attract not only villagers but also city-dwellers to rural areas. Problems of carbon emission, global warming, environmental pollution, and forest degradation could thus be addressed effectively.

K.K. Krishnamurthi,

Coimbatore

* * *

I am of the firm view that adoption of villages by corporates and institutions of learning will go a long way in solving the problem of migration. While the corporate sector could offer financial assistance, educational institutions could pitch in with their knowledge. Each house should be equipped with a wind turbine or a mini solar cell or a gobar gas plant to tap clean energy. Bio-fertilizer plants should be set up in each village, thereby solving the problem of fertilizer availability to a great extent. Cottage industries based on locally available raw materials should be established. Crop insurance should be made mandatory and the premium should be shared by the government and the individuals. Cooperative farming, while retaining individual ownership, should be encouraged.

Pammal K. Hariharan,

Chennai

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