Priyanka Kakodkar & Sujit Mahamulkar

small_screen_shot_2015-04-23_at_12.28.03_pm.png

thumbnail_screen_shot_2015-04-23_at_12.28.03_pm.png

screen_shot_2015-04-23_at_12.28.03_pm.png

MUMBAI: A series of reports in The Times of India on the drought in Maharashtra and the rise in farmer suicides triggered a strong response from the opposition, which raised the issue in both the state assembly and council.
 
 Responding to the opposition&#39;s demands for more immediate action in the state&#39;s drought-hit areas, state agriculture minister Eknath Khadse said the state was thinking of providing a life insurance scheme worth Rs 5 lakh for small farmers, with the state paying the instalments. &quot;We are also planning to set up village-level committees to boost the morale of farmers and prevent suicides,&quot; Khadse told the council.
 
 Waving copies of this newspaper in the assembly, senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Jayant Patil demanded action from the government. &quot;Farmers suicides in the state are rising during the drought, but the state government has not even mentioned a line about this in the budget speech,&quot; Patil said.
 
 On March 22, TOI had reported that farmers&#39; suicides in the state had risen by 40% during the last seven months when the impact of the drought and unseasonal rains compounded the farm crisis.

screen_shot_2015-04-23_at_12.28.18_pm.png

Leader of opposition in the assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil also referred to TOI&#39;s reports. &quot;The rise in suicides shows the government is not being sensitive to farmers. This government discussed suicides in its &#39;chai per charcha,&#39; but what happened after that?&quot; he asked.
 
 In the Upper House, leader of opposition Dhananjay Munde raised the issue. He hails from Marathwada, which was the focus of TOIs&#39;s reports. &quot;The report says the sharpest rise has been in Marathwada. Will the state announce a special package for Marathwada and Vidarbha?&quot; he asked.
 
 In its budget, the state government has already announced Rs 1,000 crore for the Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan for water conservation schemes in drought-prone areas. It has announced Rs 171 crore to provide debt relief from money-lenders. The government has also disbursed relief worth Rs 4000 crore to drought-affected farmers. It has also said another package will be declared for those impacted by unseasonal rains by the end of the assembly session.
 
 Khadse told the council that 17,526 farmers in the state had committed suicide in the last 14 years, of which 8,023 were eligible for compensation. &quot;As of now, we cannot waive their loans but this will be discussed in the cabinet meeting,&quot; he said.
 
 
 Report 9: The
 <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maharashtra-govt-says-mulling-farmer-insurance-as-opposition-cites-TOIs-suicide-reports/articleshow/46682546.cms">
 original version of this story
 </a>
 appeared in The Times of India on 25 Mar 2015
 
 
 
 More in this series:
 
 
 Report 1:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/nearly-80000-homeless-elders-go-hungry/">
 Nearly 80000 homeless elders go hungry
 </a>
 
 Report 2:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/drought-hits-90-lakhs-farmers-in-maharashtra/">
 Drought hits 90 lakhs farmers in Maharashtra
 </a>
 
 Report 3:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/kharif-crops-hit-by-drought-pulses-take-a-maha-pounding/">
 Kharif crops hit by drought pulses take a maha pounding
 </a>
 
 Report 4:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/40-rise-in-farmer-suicides-in-maharashtra/">
 40% rise in farmer suicides in Maharashtra
 </a>
 
 Report 5:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/bitter-harvest-where-villagers-dig-for-hours-to-fill-a-pot/">
 Bitter Harvest - Where villagers dig for hours to fill a pot
 </a>
 
 Report 6:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/drought-migration-forces-aged-to-toil-as-farm-hands/">
 Drought migration forces aged to toil as farm hands
 </a>
 
 Report 7:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/the-man-with-48-borewells-in-drought-hit-marathwada/">
 The man with 48 borewells in drought-hit Marathwada
 </a>
 
 Report 8:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/maharashtras-drought-hit-farmers-without-bank-accounts-denied-aid/">
 Maharashtra&#39;s drought-hit farmers without bank accounts denied aid
 </a>
 
 Report 10:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/study-agri-corporates-not-farmers-hog-loans/">
 Study: Agri-corporates, not farmers, hog loans
 </a>
 
 Report 11:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/direct-loans-below-rs-25000-to-farmers-plunge-to-43-from-23/">
 Direct loans below Rs 25,000 to farmers plunge to 4.3% from 23%
 </a>
 
 Report 12:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/only-12-potential-of-maharashtras-70000-small-dams-used/">
 Only 12% potential of Maharashtra’s 70,000 small dams used
 </a>
 
 Report 13:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/unseasonal-rain-601-farmer-suicides-in-maharashra-in-just-3-months/">
 Unseasonal rain: 601 farmer suicides in Maharashra in just 3 months
 </a>
 
 Report 14:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/only-3-maharashtra-farmers-ended-life-due-to-unseasonal-rain/">
 &#39;Only 3 Maharashtra farmers ended life due to unseasonal rain&#39;
 </a>
 
 Report 15:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/state-governments-logic-for-its-low-farmer-suicide-count-only-3-blamed-rains/">
 State government&#39;s logic for its low farmer suicide count: Only 3 blamed rains
 </a>
 
 Report 16:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/beef-banned-but-no-state-run-cow-shelters-in-sight/">
 Beef banned, but no state-run cow shelters in sight
 </a>

Maharashtra govt says mulling farmer insurance as opposition cites TOI’s suicide reports

Marathwada

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Maharashtra govt says mulling farmer insurance as opposition cites TOI’s suicide reports

The government of Maharashtra seems to think insurance can mitigate farm suicides? In the present context, it will mean higher premiums (which will be paid for by government with public money). And no insurance company anywhere pays out on a suicide, so the premiums will be forfeited.

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit