MUMBAI: Maharashtra has recorded 1,497 farmer suicides in the six months since the loan waiver was declared in June, official data shows. This is just 4.2% lower than the 1,563 cases reported in the same period last year.
In fact, these cases account for 56% of the total 2,662 farmer suicides reported between January and November this year.
The roll-out of the waiver was delayed by glitches in the verification process. By now the state has cleared Rs 19,537 crore to be deposited into 41 lakh bank accounts. However, the clearances have come slowly and the process of depositing the funds into farmers’ accounts is still on.
The gap between the number of suicides last year and this year is only 6.8%. Last year, the state had reported 2,858 farmer suicides.
The Vidarbha region, from where CM Devendra Fadnavis hails, continues to report the highest number of cases— 1,240 suicides till November-end, which account for 46.5% of the total cases in the state. The figure, however, is slightly lower than the 1,349 cases reported last year.
This year, cotton farmers from Vidarbha and Marathwada have had to contend with a massive pest attack, which impacted half their crops. Also, 51 farmers in the region died after the use of toxic pesticides in spraying operations.
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