There has been an alarming rise in the number of farm suicide cases in Punjab. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh-led government has decided to provide an institutional loan waiver of Rs 2 lakh to all marginal and small farmers who have taken loans up to Rs 2 lakh and more. However, the measure is not enough to tackle the crisis. Singh has reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to not turn his back on the farmers.
The chief minister has asked the prime minister to intervene on previous occasions. He has not received any positive response. On Thursday, Singh again wrote a letter to Modi seeking immediate intervention to avoid any socio-economic unrest in rural areas in the northern state.
In his letter, Singh noted that the adverse climatic conditions of the last three-four years is a reason for added financial stress on farmers.
According to a Hindu report, 1,309 farmers, agricultural workers took their lives in Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar and Shri Muktsar Sahib between April 2010 and December 2016. There were many cases reported in the recent past too.
On Friday, the chief minister took to Twitter to draw Modi’s attention.
Shri @narendramodi ji, I have sent you a letter, once again seeking your urgent intervention for a one-time debt relief for our distressed farmers. It’s a national crisis that the Centre cannot afford to ignore. The issue needs to be considered on priority.
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) May 17, 2018