MUMBAI: The claims by chief minister Devendra Fadnavisthat the agrarian crisis is being tackled on a war footing notwithstanding, 117 farmers ended their lives in drought-prone Marathwada in the first two months of the year.
Despite heavy rains, the scourge of suicides continues to spread through the countryside. According to statistics for January and February, the highest number of such suicides in Marathwada was in Beed (23), hometown of rural development minister Pankaja Munde, followed by Nanded (22), Osmanabad (19), Aurangabad (18), Jalna (14), Parbhani and Hingoli (8 each) and Latur (5). Of the 117 cases, financial aid was provided to families of the deceased in 46. But 13 were denied relief and 58 proposals are being processed.
Farmer leader and head of a state-level task force for farmers’ welfare, Kishore Tiwari, said while the government had taken measures, the results were not visible. “We’ll have to redraft our strategy to halt farmer suicides,” he said.
Tiwari said a new action plan will have to be drawn up to reduce rural distress. “We will have to provide remunerative prices for agriculture produce, along with market intervention. In addition, government will have to work out a plan to provide education to farmers’ children and financial assistance for healthcare,” he added.