68-year-old farmer Shankar Ghosh from Purba Bardhaman district, West Bengal committed suicide on May 3.
Ganashakti reported that the Ghosh’s family said that he had taken out loans worth lakhs from banks as well as the village mahajan.
Ghosh’s death reportedly takes the total number of farmers’ suicides in the last three months to 16 in the district and 121 in the state.
The farmer’s family members told the newspaper that he had 15 bigha land and had farmed potatoes on 6.5 bigha. Unseasonal rains had destroyed the crops right before the harvest.
Also Read: Madhya Pradesh: Mohan Rajput, a 40-year-old Farmer, Commits Suicide
The potatoes that were salvaged were sold at just Rs 130 per sack (50 kg). Following this, he again took out loans to farm wheat. The crops had grown well. However cyclone Fani’s arrival pulled Ghosh back into despair.
The agricultural department had asked farmers to harvest all wheat before the storm arrives. However, Ghosh’s crops had not matured yet, reported Ganashakti.
Accordingly to the family, like everyday, Ghosh had taken a gamucha and left for his field on Thursday. When he did not return after dark, his family went to look for him and discovered his body hanging from a tree, the report added.