Mahajan panchayat highlights plight of poor

DALTONGANJ: A Mahajan Panchayat was held on Monday on the premises of the Town hall here which was attended by Sayeeda Hameed, Member, Planning Commission of India, Kavita Srivastava, national secretary, People's Union for Civil Liberties, Apoorvanand, Delhi University, Delhi, Balram, advisor to commissioner to Supreme Court on food security.
The Mahajan Panchayat was organized by the State Deeharee Mazdoor Union, Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and IPTA.State general secretary of SDMU Rajeev Kumar said the Mahajan Panchayat has been organized to showcase the plights and sufferings of the poor in this drought period, where the state government has only announced drought and anti-hunger schemes and they are still not reaching the starving poor.
Talking to TOI, Sayeeda Hameed of Planning Commission of India said there is a palpable resentment among the people here for non-development of the area. She said this is her maiden visit to Palamu and in a short time she is trying to find out the reality.
When asked how as a member of the Planning Commission of India she sees extremists reaching the Lok Sabha, Hameed said, "I am told of this only last night by the deputy commissioner here. I will have to analyse this development."
PUCL national secretary Kavita Srivastava talking to TOI said police excesses and atrocities on poors are in fact favouring the Maoists. She said as a PUCL activist she finds no wrong when 23 women were released on bail in Kolkata which saw the release of a sub-inspector of police from Maoist possesion. Kavita said this incident proves beyond any doubt that these 23 were innocently implicated.
The PUCL urged civil groups society to ensure a free and fair poll in Jharkhand and cited episodes from Rajasthan where Dalit voters are prevented from voting but with the social civil groups this menace has been curbed to a great extent.
The Mahajan Panchayat said Kavita is to pressurise the government for the declaration of drought here and once the government declares the famine code there will be a slew of relief measures for the hungry. The DU professor Apoorvanand also pleaded for the imposition of the famine code.
The Kisan Sangharsh Samiti of Chhaterpur also participated at the Mahajan Panchyat. Sources said participation of poor and the down-trodden in such a huge number soon after Chhath indicates the rural scenario which is most pathetic in Palamu. PUCL activist said the state government here should double up the schemes and hike NREGA work limit from 100 days to 150 days in a year.
CPI's most popular and firebrand face Shailendar conducted the show. Dr Bimal of NP University also attended the Mahapanchayat.