Headlines
Eight Vidarbha farmers have committed suicide: Activist
Nagpur, Jan 28
At least eight debt-ridden
farmers in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region ended their lives in the past
four days, including four who committed suicide Wednesday, an activist
said.
"The bodies of two farmers were brought early today
(Wednesday) from Bodadi and Sonegaon villages of Yavatmal district. As
the autopsy was being carried out, two more bodies were received at the
V.N. Government Medical College -- all within a couple of hours,"
Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) president Kishore Tiwari told IANS.
The
farmers who died Wednesday were identified as Bansi Rathode of Bodadi,
Devrao Bhagwat of Sonegaon, Prakash Kutarmare of Mohada and Tulsiram
Rathode of Devnala, according to VJAS secretary Mohan Jadhav.
Tiwari said four farmers committed suicide earlier this week -- two each Jan 25 and Jan 27 -- in different parts of Vidarbha.
"We
have no information if anyone committed suicide on Republic Day (Jan
26) as it was a public holiday, and the government was busy with
celebrations," Tiwari said.
He attributed the spate of suicides
in Vidarbha and other farmlands of Maharashtra to the sudden fall in
prices of cotton and pulses.
Claiming that 62 farmers have ended
their lives since Jan 1, Tiwari said 2015 could create a new record
after 2013 when Maharashtra topped the National Crime Records Bureau
figure for maximum farmland suicides at 3,146.
Jadhav said he was
informed by the relatives of the farmers that they committed suicide
"due to immense distress and despair" among their debt-hit families .
The
VJAS leaders said they apprehend the worst with the oncoming summer
season when the farming community has to grapple with scorching heat
coupled with acute shortage of water.