Vidarbha: Six More Farmers Commit Suicide

Clearly the relief package announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this year has failed to bring any relief to the poor farmer community in Vidarbha as another six farmers committed suicide

Recurrent droughts, crop failure, rising debts and falling prices have been the major reasons behind the alarming spurt in farmer suicides. It took over 600 farmer suicides to attract the Central Government's attention in the first place.

There are no authentic figures on the exact number of farm suicides in Vidarbha, but the Maharashtra government accepts a figure of 1920 from January 1, 2001 to August 19, 2006. The Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a farmers' movement, puts the toll at 782 from June 1, 2005 to August 26, 2006. And, in the last three months, there has been a suicide every eight hours.

According to observers, the problem is not only the debt burden but also fair price for their produce. The vegetables sold in the urban markets are exorbitant yet the farmer gets a pittance and while the middlemen make money, the farmers do not get fair price for their produce.