91 farmers have ended life in three months, says BKU (Ugrahan)

A report of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) said that 91 farmers, including 15 women and 10 farm labourers, have committed suicide in the past three months across Punjab. The farmer body also claimed that 1407 ‘debt-ridden’ farmers have ended their lives during the Congress regime in the state.

The report was released by the district chief of BKU (Ugrahan) Amrik Singh here on Wednesday. It revealed suicide data from October 1, 2019 to December 30, 2019, based on reports in newspapers and TV channels.

The report states that Sangrur district tops the list with 250 deaths. Following Sangrur are Bathinda and Mansa on second and third slots with 196 and 123 deaths, respectively.

“Almost three years have elapsed but the Captain Amarinder Singh government has failed to provide relief to the debt-ridden farmers. Despite Captain’s promise of complete debt waiver before coming to power, till date bank officials are humiliating farmers, forcing them to end lives,” Amrik said.

Members of the farmer union had deployed a team to collect data of farmer suicides.

“It is shameful that 91 farmers, including women and farm labourers, have committed suicide in a matter of 90 days. Also, 1,407 farmers have ended lives in the past three years during the Congress regime,” he added.

Gobinder Singh, Sangrur block chief of the union, said that the “anti-farmer policies” of the state government are forcing farmers to take the extreme step.

“The number of farmer suicides have increased in the state as compare to that during the SAD-BJP (Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party) government’s rule. This is because even as the farmers are already reeling under debt, the present state government is booking them for stubble burning as well. This is despite the government’s own failure to provide feasible alternatives to manage paddy residual,” added Gobinder.