Aggrieved farmer airs his woes

NAGPUR: Krishna Dafre (48) had made most of the situation. After waiting for sometime outside the district collectorate on Saturday, he ran to the collector's car, sat on it, and posed for photographers to capture the moment. This was probably his idea of getting one back at the authorities for delaying his payment of around Rs 75 lakh for more than two years now.
Dafre was one of the 150-odd people whose agricultural lands were bought out by the state government because they fell under the purview of the Chikhli Nala project in the Katol tehsil of the district. Like most of these people, Dafre waited since a court ruling in 2005 for his money, but when his dues did arrive in 2007, he did not get them!
"My mother is ill, and I have not been able to treat her. I have also run up debts to the tune of lakhs with several banks. One of my sons is now studying to become an engineer, and after my sister's death a few months ago, both my nieces have come to stay with me. How am I to feed them if I do not get my dues," he asked.
Incidentally, many claim that Dafre is one of the most advanced and scientifically aware orange farmers in his area. His brother informed, "Whenever there is a competition in our area to determine whose produce is the best, Krishna invariably wins. He uses sprinklers and the drip irrigation method to water his crops."