Rahul Gandhi to address betel farmers' rally on Oct 22

Farm labour and other backward sections would also attend public meeting

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi would address a rally of betel farmers in Uttar Pradesh on October 22.

The rally, to be held at Maharajganj district in eastern UP, would be attended by betel farmers from UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

“National Commission for Scheduled Castes P L Punia has also given consent for his presence at the rally,” Rashtriya Pan Kisan Union general secretary Chhotelal Chaurasiya told Business Standard here.

Besides, farm labour and other backward sections would also attend the public meeting.

On December 10, 2011, Gandhi had visited betel vineyards in Lucknow and had assured the growers to espouse their cause.

During 2013-14, the betel farmers have been allocated Rs 4.5 crore under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). This together with the grant of Rs one crore by the UP government is expected to benefit 650 farmers.

Betel is exported to about 25 countries. During 2011-12 and 2012-13, about 4,792 tonnes and 5,054 tonnes of betel vines estimated at Rs 23 crore and Rs 27 crore respectively was exported.

This year, intense cold wave in January had destroyed betel vines in UP and the loss was pegged at Rs 100 crore. Last year too, the crop was destroyed due to cold causing loss of about Rs 70 crore to cultivators.

Intense cold and dew wreck havoc on betel vines and leaves, which dry up. This also affects the prospects of good harvest in the following season since vines are planted for fresh crop.

Betel vineyards are spread across Unnao, Rae Bareli, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Jaunpur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Banda, Azamgarh, Hardoi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Amethi, Allahabad, Sitapur, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Sonebhadra districts.

Over the years, the betel acreage has dwindled from 6,000 acres to 1,000 acres in UP.