At least four farmers committed suicide in the Marathwada region after the floods destroyed their crops, according to regional media reports. The deceased were reportedly worried about paying off the loans they borrowed for farming.
Lakshman Gavsane, a 45-year-old farmer from Dahitane in Vairag taluk of Solapur district, committed suicide after his produce was totally destroyed. Gavsane has a one-and-a-half-acre farm and is survived by his wife and three children.
Gavsane left a note behind urging the government to look after his family and take care of his kids' education. “I am committing suicide because of the flood situation," he wrote in the note.
Sharad Gamdhir, a 39-year-old farmer from Kari village in Solapur’s Barshi taluk, hanged himself after his three-and-a-half-acre farm was totally submerged under water. He cultivated guava and lemon, which were totally damaged. He had borrowed a loan of Rs 9 lakh. He is survived by his wife and two children, aged 9 and five.
At Matrewadi village in Bhum taluk of Dharashiv district, farmer Lakshman Pawar, 42, ended his life by suicide after the crop on his one-hectare farm was totally damaged due to excessive rains and floods. He also lost his cattle in the floods. He had borrowed a loan for a tractor and was worried about repayment of the loan. He is survived by his mother, wife, and three children.
At Borgaon in Kaij taluk of Beed district, 62-year-old farmer Ramesh Gavhane ended his life by grabbing a live electricity wire that ran through his farm. He has eight acres of land, and his soybean crop was totally destroyed. The floods washed away the spoil. He is survived by his wife and four children and their families. Local administration is calling this an accident due to electrocution, but Gavhane's family insists that it was a suicide.