Chhattisgarh: Cong slams govt over farmers' suicide

Alleged crop failure and debt burden led to two farmers ending their lives in Chhattisgarh with the deaths prompting Congress to accuse the ruling BJP of pursuing "anti-farmer" policies even as the government rejected claims that farm distress had led to the duo taking the extreme step.
The state government said that family disputes and alcoholism led to the suicides in Dhamtari and Rajnandgaon districts.
However, state Congress spokesperson Shailesh Nitin Trivedi alleged that "it is due to the insensitive approach of the Raman Singh government towards farmers that they are committing suicide".
He further stated that they have "received information of suicides by around 15 farmers in the Kharif crop season".

On Friday, Radheshyam, a farmer, allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide at Khapri village in Dhamtari district while another farmer ended his life in Rajnandgaon apparently due to drought and loan burden.
Alleged instances of farmers' suicides have been reported from other parts of the state in the past two months amidst deficient rainfall during the Kharif crop season this year.

"The suicides by farmers in Dhamtari and Rajnandgaon districts have revealed how much the farmers are frustrated with the poor policies of the BJP government. Unable to bear the brunt of debt, they are giving up their lives," Trivedi further charged.

However rejecting these allegations, the Dhamtari district administration said in a statement that Radheshyam was an alcoholic and had frequent fights with his family members and that was the reason that apparently prompted him to take the extreme step.
The farmer did not have any debt and even his crop yield was better this year, the administration said, adding that a probe was on into the case.
State Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal, meanwhile, averred that suicides by farmers should not be politicised.
Agrawal said that wherever farmers' suicides have been
reported, the state government has conducted probes which have revealed that a variety of factors were behind such instances.

"We have also appealed to the farmers to inform the government about the problems being faced by them so that we can provide the necessary assistance.
"Very soon, we will also start an online service for them where they would be able to report their grievances," the minister said.
According to National Crime Record Bureau data, 443 farmers committed suicide in Chhattisgarh in 2014, the fourth highest in the country after Maharashtra, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.
Notably, Chhattisgarhgovernmenthas declared 117 tehsils in 26 districts across the state asdrought-hit in view of deficient rainfall in the Kharif season this year.
Official sources said that these tehsils would not have crop yield higher than 50 paise as per 'Aanawari' (a measure of crop yield in the farms through a traditional experiment).

The government has already sent a proposal to the Centre for a nearly Rs 4,000-crore 'relief package' for providing succour in thedrought-affected tehsils.
Besides, it has suspended recovery of all taxes in the drought-hit areas and also decided to provideone quintal of paddy seed each tothe affected farmers in the next Kharif crop season, which would cost Rs 200-300 crore to the state exchequer.
Moreover, farmers in the state, who are provided free electricity supply of 7,500 units per year for their agricultural pumpsof 3-5 horse power, will now get free power upto 9,000 units, official sources added.