Five farmers commit suicides in Vidarbha

Nagpur, Nov 15: Five debt-ridden farmers committed suicide in Vidarbha yesterday, activists have said.

According to Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a voluntary organisation working among farmers in the region, the farmers who ended their lives included two from Yavatmal and one each from Gondia, Wardha and Amravati.

The number of suicides by farmers in Vidarbha since June 2005 is 1,096, which includes 488 who took the extreme step from April the announcement of the Prime Minister's package on July 1, the VJAS said in a release here today.

Meanwhile, the VJAS has extended its support to former Union Minister Mohan Dharia, who began an indefinite fast in Pune yesterday demanding waiver of loans of debt-ridden farmers.

UNI