Four Vidarbha farmers commit suicide in one day

19 January, 2013

The people of Vidarbha were shaken after they found that four more distressed and debt-trapped farmers had killed themselves on January 17. Three farmers were from Chandrapur alone and one farmer was from Amaravati.

The news of the suicides came even as all parties' legislators were protesting against Maharashtra Chief Minister's apathy towards Vidarbha regarding serious issue crop failure, forceful debt recovery, more than 12 hours of power load cut, and the complete collapse of health and food security coupled with massive unemployment and sky-touching inflation.

The farmers who killed themselves on January 17 are Dinkar Navarkhede of village Sakhari in Chandrapur; Ramdas Gohane of village Chittegoan in Chaadrapur; Gajanan Raut of village Jawra-bori in Chandrapur; and Janrao Nagle of village Khed in Amaravati.

Earlier, January 14, when the nation was celebrating Makar Sankranti festival, for villagers of Maregoan in Maregoan taluka, Dorali and Manoli in Ghatanji taluka of Yavatmal district of Vidarbha, known as the farm suicide capital of India, the locals were busy in funeral rituals of the most recent crop failure and suicide victims.

Government ministers are busy spending hundreds of crore on ‘Advantage Vidarbha’ meet to attract investment. The main opposition party BJP's national president Nitin Gadkari is also busy in arranging ‘Agro Vision’ by spending more than Advantage Vidarbha meet - both of which are slated to take place in February at Nagpur. But not a single Minister or leader of opposition has even visited crisis driven farmers. Moreover, the Nagpur session of Maharashtra legislative house failed to discuss the very serious issue of massive crop failure and despair of dying farmers of Vidarbha.