At least 12 farmers from the cotton-producing belt of western Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, the richest state of India, committed suicide since Friday due to crop losses.
Farmers' advocacy group Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samitti Chief Kishore Tiwari in a press release on Sunday said those farmers belonged to Yavatmal, Wardha, Buldhana and Amaravati districts.
Talking to PTI, Tiwari pointed out that the farmers' suicide was a “serious issue” in the entire Vidarbha region. “The government should think about increasing the minimum support price paid to the cotton farmers.”
The farmers' suicide toll this month is 52, Tiwari said.
Photo:Indianet.nl
Meanwhile, remarks on the suicide incidents by Sanjay Dhotre, a BJP lawmaker from Akola of Vidarbha, has sparked massive criticisms, reports Deccan Chronicle.
“The farmers are in trouble due to our wrong policies. Sometimes I angrily say, ‘Let the farmers die, do not pay attention. Those who can afford farming will do it, others will not do it,’” Dhotre said while speaking at an agriculture exhibition and conference of farmers in Akola on Sunday.
Criticising Dhotre, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said it showed the ruling alliance’s “perverted mentality.”
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Sunday demanded that the BJP take action against Dhotre.
“The BJP turned the suicides of farmers into an emotional issue during 'Chai Pe Charcha' programmes ahead of elections but now their MPs are insulting farmers by making such statements. I demand apology from Dhotre,” he said.
Death toll alarming
There has been an upward trend in cases of farmer suicides in Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Punjab recently, besides reporting of instances in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Times of India quotes an Intelligence Bureau note submitted to the Modi government recently.
Issued on December 19, the IB report titled “Spate of Cases of Suicide by Farmers” blames rising farmer suicides on erratic monsoon (at the onset stage) this year, outstanding loans, rising debt, low crop yield, poor procurement rate of crops and successive crop failure.
It also linked the agriculturists' woes to a depleted water table, unsuitable macro-economic policies with respect to taxes, non-farm loans and faulty prices of import and export.
As per figures placed in parliament by the government, 204 farmers committed suicide until April this year in Maharashtra.
India's National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says a total of 11,744 farmers ended their lives in India last year, down from 13,754 in 2012. With 3,146 suicides, Maharashtra tops the grim list for the 12th year in a row. The state alone has accounted for an alarming 60,750 farm suicides since 1995.
A total of 296,438 farmers committed suicide in India since 1995, the NCRB says adding that most farm suicides have been linked to debt, a sharp rise in input costs, serious water crises, price volatility and crop failure due to pest attacks and disease.
