Priyanka Kakodkar

thumbnail_screen_shot_2015-04-23_at_11.12.57_am.png

screen_shot_2015-04-23_at_11.12.57_am.png

In 2014, the state had reported 1,981 farmer suicides. In just three months this year, it has reached 30% of that figure. This despite the state government&#39;s claims that halting farmer suicides is its top priority.
 
 The suicide rate had already started climbing with the onset of the drought last year. The unseasonal rain which impacted a wide expanse of crops and continues to pound the state has made things worse.
 
 The cotton belt of Vidarbha - from where chief minister Devendra Fadnavis hails - continues to report the highest number of cases, the data shows. More than half the suicides between January and March - 319 in all — were from Vidarbha. The arid zone of Marathwada reported the second-highest number, with 215 cases. These regions were worst hit by the drought and have also been impacted by unseasonal rain.
 
 In 2014, the state reported the same trend. Of the 1,981 cases, the highest toll of 1,097 was from Vidarbha. Marathwada accounted for 574 cases, reporting a steep rise in suicides once the drought began. In December 2014, Marathwada reported 151 cases, the highest toll in the state.
 
 Farmers&#39; groups say the state&#39;s Rs 4,000 crore drought relief package translated into a very small sum per farmer since as many as 90 lakh farmers were impacted. &quot;It works out to just around Rs 1,875 an acre. Also, banks continued to demand repayments from farmers despite instructions from the state to restructure loans,&quot; said Kishor Tiwari of the Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti.
 
 The low price of crops and the lack of bank credit to farmers - which underpin the larger crisis in the farm sector - have not been addressed by the government, he pointed out. &quot;It costs Rs 6,800 to grow a quintal
 
 of cotton. The sale price fixed by the government is Rs 4,000. Even without a drought, farmers were in debt,&quot; Tiwari said.
 
 &quot;The farm crisis preceded our government. We have announced a series of measures which will soon have an impact,&quot; said state agriculture minister Eknath Khadse. The state hopes to boost water conservation
 
 through its Jalyukta Shivar Yojana. It has also drafted an action plan which includes restructuring bank loans and waiving loans worth Rs 171 crore from moneylenders. The state has also set up a committee to
 
 monitor vulnerable families and planned schemes to aid education and medical treatment for families of farmers.
 
 
 Report 13: The
 <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Unseasonal-rain-601-farmer-suicides-in-Maharashra-in-just-3-months/articleshow/46973686.cms?intenttarget=no">
 original version of this story
 </a>
 appeared in The Times of India on 19 Apr 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 9:
 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/maharashtra-govt-says-mulling-farmer-insurance-as-opposition-cites-tois-suicide-reports/">
 Maharashtra govt says mulling farmer insurance as opposition cites TOI’s suicide reports
 </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 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>

Unseasonal rain: 601 farmer suicides in Maharashra in just 3 months

ଅନିୟମିତ ବୃଷ୍ଟିପାତ: ମାତ୍ର ୩ ମାସରେ ମହାରାଷ୍ଟ୍ରରେ ୬୦୧ ଚାଷୀ ଆତ୍ମହତ୍ୟା

Mumbai

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>

Unseasonal rain: 601 farmer suicides in Maharashra in just 3 months

As many as 601 farmers have killed themselves in Maharashtra in the three-month span between January and March this year. This works out to a chilling statistic of almost seven farmer suicides every day, according to the state government's own figures.

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