An RTI query has reportedly revealed that farmers’ suicides in Maharashtra have doubled in the last four years. This is when drought has been declared in close to half of Maharashtra, with about 150 tehsils out of 360 severely affected.
Per an NDTV report by Purva Chitnis, Maharashtra government in its letter to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) says that between 2011-2014, a total of 6,268 farmers committed suicide. This was during the Congress-NCP era. The number shot up by 91 percent to 11,995 from January 2015-18, under the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP-Shiv Sena government.
Kishore Tiwari, head of Vasantrao Shetti Swawalamban Mission, Maharashtra government, told NDTV that issues of credit, cost and crop pattern that still cause distress in rural India. “The core issues of farmers related to the distress in the rural area is mostly related to the credit, cost and the crop pattern adopted by the farmers. The issues of health, rural unemployment and natural climate are also very significant,” he reportedly said.
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Amravati division, commonly known as Vidarbha, recorded highest number of suicides —5,214, in the last four years. Aurangabad division, also known Marthawada, reported 4,699 suicides.
An important point that an RTI activist made to NDTV is that most deaths in the region are driven by pressure built on farmers by the local money lenders. “Most of the farmer suicides take place because of money-lenders. They harass the farmers, not government banks. They should be controlled,” said RTI activist Jeetendra Ghadge.
It is significant to note that the Narendra Modi-led government has not reported data on farmer suicides since 2016.
Also Read: A Non-Exhaustive List of Important Data That The Modi Govt Has Not Released (Or Doesn’t Have)