11 more farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha-Pradip Kumar Maitra, Hindustan Times
When a high-level team from the centre was visiting different districts and assessing the loss because of drought in the region, 11 more farmers from Vidarbha ended their lives since September 1. A central team has come here to make an on-the-spot study of drought-hit districts of Vidarbha region.
According to reports reaching Nagpur on Sunday, among the victims, four were from Yavatmal, three from Amravati, two from Buldhana and one each from Gondia and Akola district. Nine farmers killed themselves by swallowing pesticides while two ended their lives by hanging themselves, reports said.
Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti claimed that most of the farmers had taken the drastic step because of crop failure. Paddy, Soyabean and cotton crops were badly affected because of paucity of rains in the region, he pointed out.
An average two farmers now commit suicide every day in the region. As many as 48 farmers have committed suicide in Vidarbha last month while the figure was 784 last year. The farmers' pressure groups in Nagpur attributed rising costs of cultivation, low rate of remunerative price of agriculture produces, lack of credit availability for small and marginal farmers and repeated crop failures are the main reasons for such a pathetic state of farmers in the region.
The former Shetkari Sanghatana president Vijay Jawandhia demanded that the government should declare a total moratorium on the farm loans in view of the situation of farmers in Vidarbha till the crisis ends.
Tiwari insisted that the government should also provide food security for farmers of Vidarbha to prevent more deaths.
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