E-Paper
Vidarbha?s death run
No amount of relief measures seem to stem the tide of suicides in Vidarbha. Five more farmers have taken their lives in the last 24 hours.
No amount of relief measures seem to stem the tide of suicides in Vidarbha. Five more farmers have taken their lives in the last 24 hours.
According to reports reaching here on Thursday, two farmers ended their lives in Buldhana district while one each died in Yavatmal, Akola, Washim and Nagpur districts. The reasons are uncannily similar. They didn’t have the money to sow seeds after saplings were washed away by rain that lashed the region last month.
The farmers who have committed suicides were: Baburao Gore of Hitoda, Ramdas Jadhav of Kolwad (both in Buldhana district), Premdas Domaji Bagde of Mangrul (Yavatmal), Kalim Sheikh of Khetri (Akola) and Damodar Ramkrishna Kudamati of Bhorgarh in Nagpur district.
With this, the suicide toll has risen from 41 in 2001 to 807 in the current kharif season. The recent torrential rains has worsened the situation, with crops being washed away in many places.
Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti, said as many as 205 farmers, disappointed with the relief package rolled out by the PM, have taken the drastic step after his visit to Vidarbha.
