Gujarat potato farmers tell PepsiCo: Withdraw court cases unconditionally, compensate

By A Representative
Gujarat potato farmers sued by PepsiCo have rejected the top multinational corporation’s (MNC’s) announcement that it would withdraw cases against them under certain terms and conditions, asserting that Indian farmers’ seed freedoms are non-negotiable.
Talking with media in Ahmedabad, one of the four potato farmers, Bipin Patel, flanked by half-a-dozen farmer leaders, said, “We learn from media that they will withdraw cases against us, but this should be unconditional.”
Chhabilbhai Patel and Vinodbhai Patel, also present on the occasion, added that they should be paid compensation for the harassment they were subjected to even though the law is very clear on the subject, regretting, while the Gujarat government is learnt to be negotiating with PepsiCo, it has still not talked to them.
According to them, the court proceedings came as a shock to them, including the amount of damages that the company was claiming – Rs 1.5 crore each. It was clearly trying to intimidate and harass us. Its real intention might have been to wipe out competitors from the market, but it chose to harass farmers, they added.
Farmers’ rights leader Kapil Shah of Jatan Trust, coordinator of the new body formed to fight against PepsiCo, Beej Samprabhuta Forum, insisted, “There cannot be any tampering with the legal rights contained for farmers in the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001, which surpass the breeders’ right, in the name of 'long term and amicable resolution of all issues around seed protection’.”
Shah said, PepsiCo seemed to take a step backwards only after the news of the MNC suing the farmers “gripped national attention”, with “Indian and global citizens taking to social media with loud boycott calls against PepsiCo” after around 200 activists and social workers “wrote to concerned government authorities to intervene and protect farmers’ rights” on April 24.
Claimed Shah, “PepsiCo is already on the backfoot, opting for an out-of-court settlement.” On April 27, Gujarat’s Deputy Chief Minister stated that the government would implead in the case. On May 1, there was news of government trying to get an out of court settlement going. On May 2, PepsiCo spokesperson put out a statement saying that the company will withdraw the cases.

Kutch water crisis deepens: Bhuj lost 54 of its 82 lakes; pastoralists migrate first time since 2018

By Rajiv Shah A comprehensive new report by Homes In The City (HIC), a Bhuj-based civil society programme, has revealed that despite late monsoon rains easing Kutch's immediate drought conditions, the region faces a deepening water security crisis — with Bhuj having lost more than half of its historic lakes and pastoral communities forced to migrate for the first time since 2018.

From a cowshed to a home: How Mangaltai's Palawi gives HIV-positive children a second life

By Dr A.V. Yadappanavar * In a small village called Takli, not far from the temple town of Pandharpur in Maharashtra, there is a home where children who were once abandoned because of their HIV status now find food, medicine, education, and something even rarer — love without fear. The home is called Palawi, and it was founded in 2001 by Mangal Shah, affectionately known as Mangaltai, a social worker who could not look away from children rejected by their own families.

Tribal rights under siege: Roundtable Seeks strong legal defence of land, jobs and PESA

By A Representative Tribal rights activists, legal experts, tribal leaders, former officials and civil society representatives from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have called for urgent action on tribal land rights, employment and PESA safeguards. They were participating in roundtable on Constitutional Safeguards for Scheduled Tribes in the Telugu States at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad. Former Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao chaired the deliberations.

Counterview

Search This Blog