Farmer suicides touch 500 in Vidarbha region ….Pradip Kumar Maitra
Two more kill themselves in 48-hour span after their crops are washed away by downpour; August toll is 24
Two more kill themselves in 48-hour span after their crops are washed away by downpour; August toll is 24
NAGPUR: Two farmers committed suicide within 48 hours of each other in the cotton belt of western Vidarbha, taking the number of such cases to 500 this year.
Twenty-four farmers from the region have killed themselves in August so far.
Reports suggest that crops belonging to the two farmers were washed away by a torrential downpour. When they could not raise funds for re-sowing, the two farmers killed themselves. The victims were identified as Bhaurao Dethe, 55, of Pimpri village in Yavatmal and Vijay Bute, 36, of Wani-Belkheda in Amravati.
Dethe had a crop loan of around Rs25,000 from local cooperative bank against his name. He cultivated cotton and soyabean. When rain dried up midway through July, his crop dried up. Dethe borrowed money from a private money lender for re-sowing. But his efforts were washed away by the flood. Sensing that he may not be able to repay the loans, Dethe doused himself with kerosene and set himself afire on Monday morning.
Bute, on the other hand, held five acres of land. He had borrowed Rs55,000 from the Central Bank of India towards crop loan. When his crop was washed away by the downpour, Bute consumed pesticide and killed himself on Tuesday.
Crop failure and delayed relief from the government are the main reasons behind the recent suicides, claimed Kishore Tiwari, president of V id a rbh a Janandolan Samiti, which has been documenting farmer suicide since 2001.
Vijay Jawandhia, former president of Shetkari Sanghatana, expressed similar sentiments. He predicted that the situation in the region was likely to worsen if the state machinery failed to provide prompt relief to distressed farmers.
Of the 24 farmers who have killed themselves, eight were from Yavatmal district.
Ashwin Mudgal, collector of Yavatmal, one of the worst-hit districts in the region was not available for comment.
Source: Hindustan Times, Page No. 11, Dated: August 23rd August 2012