Farmer Suicides

The Congress hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday by posing questions to him on Maharashtra, asking what is the BJP doing to prevent farmer suicides in the states. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh posed questions to the PM ahead of his rallies in Chimur and Solapur and asked why has the BJP "diluted" Adivasis' forest rights in Maharashtra. In 2006, the Congress had passed the revolutionary Forest Rights Act (FRA) which granted Adivasis and forest-dwelling communities legal rights to manage their own forests, and economically benefit from forest produce they collect, he pointed out. "The BJP government, however, has obstructed the implementation of the FRA, depriving millions of Adivasis of its benefits. Only 52% (2,06,620 claims) of the 4,01,046 individual claims filed have been granted, and land titles distributed cover only 23.5% (11,769 sq. km) of the 50,045 sq. km eligible for community rights," Ramesh said in his post on X. Why ha

As many as 1,088 farmers committed suicide in eight districts of the Marathwada region in central Maharashtra in 2023, a report from the divisional commissioner's office revealed. The figure has gone up by 65 compared to 2022, an official said. Of the 1,088 suicides in 2023, Beed recorded the highest 269 such deaths, followed by 182 in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 175 in Nanded, 171 in Dharashiv and 103 in Parbhani, the report stated. Jalna, Latur and Hingoli reported 74, 72 and 42 such deaths respectively. As per the report, 1,023 farmer suicides were reported in 2022 in Marathwada, which comprised Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Hingoli, Dharashiv, Latur, Nanded and Parbhani districts. The administration probed into each case, and ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh was disbursed to the kin in the eligible cases, the official said. Out of 1,088 cases, 777 were eligible for ex-gratia, which has been disbursed, and 151 cases are currently under inquiry, he said.

This effectively means that in the last three years, while suicides by those who show farming as their profession have consistently declined, those who show as farm labourers have risen

The Marathwada region of Maharashtra reported 1,023 farmer suicides in 2022, up from 887 in the previous year, an official from the divisional commissioner's office said. The region comprising Jalna, Aurangabad, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Latur, Osmanabad and Beed districts had recorded one farmer suicide in 2001. So far, 10,431 growers have ended their lives in the region's eight districts since 2001, show figures from the divisional commissionerate. Between 2001 and 2010, the maximum 379 farmer suicides were reported in 2006. In the 2011-2020 decade, the highest number of farmer suicides at 1,133 was reported in 2015, the data showed. Out of the 10,431 farmers who ended their lives since 2001, 7,605 had received aid as per the government norms, an official said. Over the past few years, the region has seen drought-like conditions in some years and excess rain in others, which has compounded the difficulties of crop growers, according to activists and officials. The irrigation .

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar claimed that as many as 137 farmers have died by suicide in the state since the Eknath Shinde-led government came to power

While the number of farmer suicides may have declined, there has been a spike in the number of deaths among farm labourers

Self-killing has grown among self-employed, jobless, salaried and even students. While farmer suicides haven't really reduced, farm workers are less inclined to take the extreme step, data suggests

As there was no concrete step to address the farmers' demand in two days, the farmers have expressed their anguish through the letter and have sought permission to embrace death," Dalal said

Unemployed persons (12,936) were slightly behind those self-employed (13,149) who took their own lives

Rakesh Sahu was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his house in Subhash Nagar locality under Panvadi township on Friday, police said

"Instead of solving the problems of the farmers, the BJP government considered it more appropriate to tamper with and suppress the report on farmer suicides," the Congress general secretary said.

In absolute numbers, farmer suicides in Haryana and Punjab were less than in Maharashtra, which continued to be Number-1

He, however, said that he has "complete sympathy" for farmers who have lost their lives

Farmers in Marathwada are fearing crop losses due to a dry spell of the last fortnight

Farmer suicides increased 7% to 17,368 in 2009, from the 2008 count of 16,196

Researchers projected that suicide rate will only rise as temperatures continue to warm

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the government was alive to the problems of farmers

Dhanaji Jadhav, 45, hung himself from a tree near his house at Veet village in Karmala tehsil

At least four farmer suicides were reported in the state in the last few days

He adds till over 50% farmland comes under irrigation, suicide by farmers will not stop