Farmers are
the integral part of our economy. They are responsible for the food we put on
our table three times a day. Not only food, they provide resources for us to
put clothes on our backs. Without farmers we’d be hungry, naked and cold. The
government officials try to minimize the level of discrimination in the cities
but the lives of our farmers are deteriorating constantly. Do we ever
contemplate over this grave issue? NO. Every day in news we come across reports
stating the injustice faced by them whether in terms of minimum support prices
or minimum wages. Unfortunately, their struggle doesn’t end at this. I read an
article in The Times of India, dated 4th September 2018, where a
series of bank frauds committed by a gang came to light in Tamil Nadu. A gang
obtained signatures from about 170 farmers and daily agricultural workers saying
they would get them ‘pension’ from the government. It was only after the
families started receiving demand notices from the banks (for loans of up to Rs
45 lakh) did they realize that they were made to sign on bank loan papers and not
pension papers. In two districts alone, the gang made away with Rs 60 crore for
whom now the farmers have to pay the price.
Satark’s
agenda is to safeguard the common citizens from many frauds like this. Being a
consumer we need to be aware all the time. In this case, the farmers were lured by the
gang on the pretext of providing government pensions. Using their signs on
documents, loans were credited into their accounts from where the money was
siphoned off. While the accused are now in jail, at least 15 farmers have died
under suspicious circumstances. Who is responsible for the deaths of the
farmers? Partly government and partly their own lack of awareness. If they had
been more ‘satark’ in life as not to sign on papers of agencies which are not
affiliated by the government or had not wired their personal information to
strangers, the nation would not have lost 15 of its farmers.
In an
increasingly electronic world, it has become imperative that we are aware of
the scams and threats to our confidential information and take steps to prevent
identity theft from occurring. Helping customers educate themselves on ways to
protect their information is a top priority of Satark. We have to be aware of any
government imposter frauds which start with a phone call, a letter, an email, supposedly
from a government agency, requiring personal financial information, such as
Social Security or bank account numbers. Remember that if you provide personal information
it can be used to commit fraud. Also, government agencies will never ask you
for your personal information without your consent and if you ever receive
messages like this, immediately report them.
Submitted by
Komal Joshi
English honors, 3rd year
Submitted by
Komal Joshi
English honors, 3rd year
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