4 more farmers commit suicide

Nagpur, Aug 5 (UNI) Four more farmers committed suicide in Vidarbha district of Maharashtra, taking the number of farmers ending their lives so far this year to 551, the Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti said today.

The Samiti, that has been keeping track of the farmers' who have ended their lives, said of the four farmers who committed suicide, two were from Yavatmal and two from Amravati.

The four deceased farmers were Ramesh Rathod and Narayan Dhavne, from Yavatmal, and Diwakar Mankar and Dadarao Meshram from Amravati.

The districts of Vidarbha and Yavatmal top the list with 140 farmers ending lives, followed by Amravati--97, Akola--66, Washim - 61, Buldhana-- 59, Wardha--44, Nagpur--13, Bhandara and Chandrapur - 19 each, Gondia and Gadchiroli seven each.

The maximum suicides--90 in a month this year--were reported in April. The corresponding figures for other months, as listed in the Samiti release are: January--70, February--86, March-- 82, May-- 79, June--68, July--64 and August--12.

The Samiti has sought waiving of loans for the crises-ridden farmers of Vidarbha and proper remunerative prices for cotton, the main crop of the region.

UNI