Farmer Suicides

Congress and BJP workers on Tuesday staged protests in front of the mini civil station at Agali here over the death of a farmer, who died by suicide, on his agricultural land in this north Kerala. The protesters alleged that procedural lapses and delay by revenue officials in providing 'thandaper' (land record number) for his farmland despite repeated visits to the village office forced Krishnaswamy, the farmer, to take the extreme step. The 53-year-old farmer, a native of Kavundikkal in Attappadi, was found hanging from a tree in his farmland on Monday. His family had also alleged that Krishnaswamy took his life after being exhausted by officials not providing thandaper "for his three acres of land". They said that he had been visiting the office for the past six months and he was upset over the delay. Congress workers, who gathered in large numbers in front of the civil station, squatted on the road holding party flags and raised slogans against the government and officials. Th

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi cited a media report that claimed 767 farmers in Maharashtra have taken their own lives in just three months

As many as 21,219 farmers died by suicide in the five districts under Amravati revenue division of Maharashtra between in the last 24 years, according to an official report. The figure is for deaths between January 2001 and January 2025 in Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Washim and Yavatmal districts of Amravati division, the report said. It includes 80 farmer suicides in January this year. The report states that during the last 24 years, 5,395 farmers died by suicide in Amravati district, 3,123 in Akola district, 6,211 in Yavatmal district, 4,442 farmers in Buldhana district and 2,048 farmers ended their lives in Washim district. In January 2025, 10 farmers died by suicide in Amravati district, 10 in Akola, 34 in Yavatmal, 10 in Buldhana and seven in Washim district. The report said that of the total suicides in the 24 years, 9,970 cases were eligible (for government compensation), 10,963 were ineligible, while 319 cases are pending for inquiry. Assistance has been given in 9,740 ...

NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday expressed concerns about farmer suicides in Marathwada and Vidarbha and said the Centre should come up with a policy to help cultivators. Pawar's statement comes in the backdrop of the data released by the state relief and rehabilitation department that revealed that 2,635 farmers died by suicide in Maharashtra in 2024. "The information which has come from Marathwada and Vidarbha is worrying. We will collect accurate data from different locations. The Centre should prepare a policy to help farmers," he told reporters in Baramati. On speculations about NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil crossing over to the Ajit Pawar-led party faction, the senior politician said Patil had already given his statement to the media. Patil, the state president of NCP (SP), had earlier said nothing about him was certain, sparking the buzz that he could quit the party. On Friday, Patil met the NCP (SP) chief at an event in Baramati and later said he was not upset an

The Congress hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday by posing questions to him on Maharashtra, asking what is the BJP doing to prevent farmer suicides in the states. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh posed questions to the PM ahead of his rallies in Chimur and Solapur and asked why has the BJP "diluted" Adivasis' forest rights in Maharashtra. In 2006, the Congress had passed the revolutionary Forest Rights Act (FRA) which granted Adivasis and forest-dwelling communities legal rights to manage their own forests, and economically benefit from forest produce they collect, he pointed out. "The BJP government, however, has obstructed the implementation of the FRA, depriving millions of Adivasis of its benefits. Only 52% (2,06,620 claims) of the 4,01,046 individual claims filed have been granted, and land titles distributed cover only 23.5% (11,769 sq. km) of the 50,045 sq. km eligible for community rights," Ramesh said in his post on X. Why ha

As many as 1,088 farmers committed suicide in eight districts of the Marathwada region in central Maharashtra in 2023, a report from the divisional commissioner's office revealed. The figure has gone up by 65 compared to 2022, an official said. Of the 1,088 suicides in 2023, Beed recorded the highest 269 such deaths, followed by 182 in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 175 in Nanded, 171 in Dharashiv and 103 in Parbhani, the report stated. Jalna, Latur and Hingoli reported 74, 72 and 42 such deaths respectively. As per the report, 1,023 farmer suicides were reported in 2022 in Marathwada, which comprised Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Hingoli, Dharashiv, Latur, Nanded and Parbhani districts. The administration probed into each case, and ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh was disbursed to the kin in the eligible cases, the official said. Out of 1,088 cases, 777 were eligible for ex-gratia, which has been disbursed, and 151 cases are currently under inquiry, he said.

This effectively means that in the last three years, while suicides by those who show farming as their profession have consistently declined, those who show as farm labourers have risen

The Marathwada region of Maharashtra reported 1,023 farmer suicides in 2022, up from 887 in the previous year, an official from the divisional commissioner's office said. The region comprising Jalna, Aurangabad, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Latur, Osmanabad and Beed districts had recorded one farmer suicide in 2001. So far, 10,431 growers have ended their lives in the region's eight districts since 2001, show figures from the divisional commissionerate. Between 2001 and 2010, the maximum 379 farmer suicides were reported in 2006. In the 2011-2020 decade, the highest number of farmer suicides at 1,133 was reported in 2015, the data showed. Out of the 10,431 farmers who ended their lives since 2001, 7,605 had received aid as per the government norms, an official said. Over the past few years, the region has seen drought-like conditions in some years and excess rain in others, which has compounded the difficulties of crop growers, according to activists and officials. The irrigation .

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar claimed that as many as 137 farmers have died by suicide in the state since the Eknath Shinde-led government came to power

While the number of farmer suicides may have declined, there has been a spike in the number of deaths among farm labourers

Self-killing has grown among self-employed, jobless, salaried and even students. While farmer suicides haven't really reduced, farm workers are less inclined to take the extreme step, data suggests

As there was no concrete step to address the farmers' demand in two days, the farmers have expressed their anguish through the letter and have sought permission to embrace death," Dalal said

Unemployed persons (12,936) were slightly behind those self-employed (13,149) who took their own lives

Rakesh Sahu was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his house in Subhash Nagar locality under Panvadi township on Friday, police said

"Instead of solving the problems of the farmers, the BJP government considered it more appropriate to tamper with and suppress the report on farmer suicides," the Congress general secretary said.

In absolute numbers, farmer suicides in Haryana and Punjab were less than in Maharashtra, which continued to be Number-1

He, however, said that he has "complete sympathy" for farmers who have lost their lives

Farmers in Marathwada are fearing crop losses due to a dry spell of the last fortnight

Farmer suicides increased 7% to 17,368 in 2009, from the 2008 count of 16,196

Researchers projected that suicide rate will only rise as temperatures continue to warm