Bhopal, August 20 (Pervez Bari): The condition of drought in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra state is getting worse day by day as six more farmers committed suicides allegedly due to crop failure and acute distress following huge debt .
According to Nagpur-based Kishor Tiwari, president of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, (VJAS), in this month of August more than 36 farmers in drought prone Vidarbha region have committed suicides. It is a matter of concern that now reports from new areas of paddy growing cases of farm suicides have started to come, he added.
Tiwari said the names of the recent victims are: 1. Vijay Manohar Bothe of Pahapal village in Yavatmal district, 2. Vishwas Zingaraji Nandane of Pimpari Purva village in Amaravati district, 3. Ramesh Tulsiram Maraskhole of Pathargode village in Yavatmal district, 4. Ramchandra Lahanuji Mungale of Bhisi Devidas village in Chandrapur district, 5. Dilip Suresh of Ekadapur of Wardha and 6. Arun Tukaram Dakhode of Yenikoni village in Nagpur district.
He said earlier around two million hectors of soybean sowing was damaged due to dry spell. Now in last two days 3.2 million hectors of cotton crop have started showing signs of withering and failure of monsoon coupled with pest attack is destroying the standing crop in central India. The economic impact of cotton failure in rain-fed areas will be huge if there are no monsoon rains. Most parts of rural Vidarbha and Marathwada have not received rains since 20th July. Hence, the panic and more farm suicides are being reported, he pointed out.
As per recent report from all over India, Tiwari revealed, drought has very badly hit agrarian economy.
“We are demanding visit of Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Vidarbha region to assess for himself the ground reality of serious situation to stop spate of ongoing farm suicides which has re-started”, said Tiwari.
VJAS has asked the government to provide free health care, food security, rural employment, fodder to save dying cattle, drinking water to rural masses and cattle on priority basis so that prevailing acute distress can be minimized and farmers’ suicides can be abated, Tiwari added. (pervezbari@eth.net)