5 more farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha

Nagpur, Oct 17 (UNI) At least five farmers committed suicide in the past two days in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, activists said today.

According to Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a voluntary organisation working among farmers in the region, the five, who took the extreme step included two from Washim district and one each from Wardha, Buldhana and Akola districts.

With this, the number of farmers who had ended their lives in Vidarbha this year had touched 612, a VJAS press release said.

The advent of pests over 30 lakh hectares under cotton had damaged nearly 60 per cent of the crop, pushing the cultivators into dire straits, it said.

The government must start purchase of cotton simultaneously at all its 436 procurement centres in the region, before Diwali festival, to prevent the situation from aggravating, the organisation urged.

UNI AB RN SY KP1559