Big rise in farmer suicides in four states during 2016, says NCRB data

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

Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Karnataka, which have large tracts under irrigation and have maintained high agricultural production levels, saw a surge in farmer suicides during 2016, as compared to 2015,  provisional data showed. 

This contrasts with the traditional suicide hotbeds of Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh — they saw a fall in 2016, according to figures provided to Parliament this week.

From the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), it shows around 250 suicides related to the farming sector in Haryana that year, a rise of 54 per cent from 2015. In Punjab, the rise was 118 per cent from 2015.

Gujarat’s rise was