The fact that attempted suicide is still treated as a crime in India hampers the provision of care to this vulnerable group. The government, police and medical professionals can play a critical role in easing the suicide crisis in India (Representational Image)
Three marginal farmers killed themselves in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district in separate incidents due to crop failure and indebtedness in a span of two days, police said.
The incidents were reported from Jalalkheda, Aroli, and Kelwad police station areas.
On September 4, Vitthalrao Umarkar (62) was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his house in Ambada village under the Jalalkheda police station, around 50 km from Nagpur. Jalalkheda police station in-charge Manoj Choudhary said the deceased Umarkar owned two and a half acres of land. “Prima facie, he had availed a crop loan of Rs 3 lakh. He was depressed for the last few days after his crop failed due to heavy rains,” he said.
In another incident, a farmer, identified as Krishna Sayam (36), was found hanging from a tree on Sunday, September 4 evening in Tanda village in Mauda tehsil, about 65 km from the city. An Aroli police station official said Sayam had borrowed from his relatives who were forcing him to repay.
“On Sunday evening, he hanged himself from a tree,” he said.
In another incident, farmer Ashok Sarwe (35), a resident of Umri village in Saoner tehsil, consumed poison at his farm in Umri village under the Kelwad police station area due to crop failure, a police official said. “Sarwe had taken a loan from an insurance company. After rains damaged his crop, he became depressed. He committed suicide by consuming poison at his farm on Saturday, September 3 at 10 am,” the official added.
Police have registered cases of accidental death and began investigation.
Meanwhile, nearly 600 farmers in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region have died by suicide between January 1, 2022 and mid-August, according to official figures. Activists have blamed government policies as the cause of the deaths.
Some 547 farmers had died by suicide from January 1 through July, according to the figures received from the divisional commissioner’s office, Aurangabad. Another 37 deaths were registered in August alone, pushing the numbers close to 600, according to taluka offices.
The suicides are being seen as a consequence of rains that damaged millions of hectares of agricultural land in July. Excessive rains on July 11 and 12 affected over 100,000 farmers in 24 districts of Marathwada, damaging tur (pigeon pea), corn, soyabean, paddy, cotton and banana crops.
Source: Down To Earth
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