In a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, he demanded that Yavatmal district in Vidarbha, which he just toured, be declared 'dry' like Wardha and Chandrapur.
The 'dry' tag would mean imposing a ban on the sale, purchase, production and consumption of liquor in the district.
The former Union agriculture minister said he had toured three villages in Yavatmal district which reported the highest farmer suicides in the Vidarbha region.
"Unpredictable weather like the excess rain in 2012 and hailstorm last year have had an adverse impact on crops. Works of medium irrigation projects are pending.
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"In the last ten years, it has been noticed that the suicide rate is more in months of August to November when sown crops have not grown, standing crops have got damaged due to lack of rain and money has been borrowed for festivals," Pawar said.
"During the Lok Sabha campaign, Narendra Modi had promised fixing the agriculture production cost in such a way that farmers get 50 per cent of profit (on investment). But the assurance has not been fulfilled (by Modi Government)," he noted and stressed the need to declare Yavatmal a dry district to prevent farmers from consuming alcohol.
Recalling how he had initiated a campaign to provide psychological support to survivors of the 1993 Latur earthquake during his tenure as Chief Minister with help of actor and psychiatrist Mohan Agashe, Pawar urged Fadnavis to start a similar initiative for suicide-prone districts.