Sirsa village sarpanch commits suicide as whitefly destroys crop

Another farmer has allegedly committed suicide by in Sirsa district in the wake of loss of his cotton crop due to whitefly attack.

Another farmer has allegedly committed suicide by in Sirsa district in the wake of loss of his cotton crop due to whitefly attack.

Gurjant Singh (55), sarpanch of Moosli village who was reportedly under depression due to damage of cotton crop, consumed pesticide at his field on Thursday evening. His family members rushed him to hospital where doctors declared him as brought dead.

Deceased's brother Gurmeet Singh said, Gurjant was elected as village Sarpanch in 2010 panchayat elections and was under depression over damage to his cotton and Guar crop due to whitefly attack.

The deceased leaves behind his wife and four children.

Police handed over Gurjant's dead body to his family after the post-mortem and started investigations.

Notably, another farmer Chhinderpal (56) had committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in his field in Sahuwala village in the district on Monday, allegedly in the wake of loss of his cotton crop due to whitefly attack.

According to available information, 40% to 50% cotton crop had been eaten up by the whitefly in Sirsa district. Helpless farmers have been uprooting the cotton plants as these were completely damaged.