The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh seems to be in deep trouble as it has continuously been facing problems one after another. The first signs of crisis came right in the mid of the Rabi season as several districts in the state encountered an acute shortage of urea. Farmers in Guna and Raisen districts of Madhya Pradesh reportedly staged protests and blocked roads after cooperative societies ran out of urea. Not just the urea shortage, the farmers of MP are also facing energy (electricity) crisis since the Congress has come to power in the state.
For more details: After Urea shortage, power crisis looms large over Madhya Pradesh
Now, there are media reports which suggest that instead of trying to find a sustainable solution to the urea crisis, the state government sanctioned Mandis have been selling substandard urea to farmers. The farmers protested against the state administration in Morena district regarding the poor quality of urea. The farmers have complained about the sub-standard quality of urea and its harmful effects on crops.
According to a Dainik Bhaskar report, farmers have said that the state has received new rakes of urea. But 1100 sacks of Urea are kept closed in the warehouses. The farmers further alleged that the state government is distributing old urea which is not good for the crops. Farmers told that urea distributed by the state government is of no use as it does not dissolve in the soil. A farmer took out urea from the stack and put the granules in the glass filled with water. But even after 30 minutes, urea showed no sign of change. It remained in its original form and did not dissolve in water.
Moreover, the farmers can’t afford to buy expensive urea from the market. It is estimated that crop production would reduce by 60% due to the urea shortage.
The Congress came to power in the state by raising the issue of farm distress in a big way, but after assuming power, it seems to have done nothing substantial to improve the condition of farmers in Madhya Pradesh. In fact, the condition of farmers has only exacerbated in the state. Basically, the Congress exploited emotions and sentiments of farmers only in order to grab the power in the state. The state government instead of providing solutions to farm distress is busy finding excuses. Recently, Kamal Nath blamed the central government for the urea crisis in MP.
The Congress had made farmer distress a major political and electoral issue in the run-up to the Assembly polls in the Hindi heartland this year. It must be a matter of introspection for the Congress even after storming to power; such major issues are continuously plaguing farmers in Madhya Pradesh. This speaks volumes as far as administrative efficiency and poor governance on the part of Congress government is concerned. Farmers have also blamed the officials’ slackness for the problem.