Nashik farmer ends life, toll 25

NASHIK: Gorakshanath Ashok Jadhav, a 35-year-old farmer, allegedly died by consuming poison. This takes the farmer suicide toll in Nashik this year to 25.
Jadhav, resident of Nilamvadi, Dindori taluka, leaves behind parents, wife and a child. He allegedly consumed poison in his house on April 14. His family rushed him to hospital, where he was under treatment until April 19, when he died.
"A case has been registered, we got the information from a district officer," an official at the district headquarters said. Since April 13 this year, four farmers have died by suicide in the district.
Bajirao Bhamre, a 65-year-old farmer and resident of Nardane village, Malegaon, died on April 13 after consuming poison. Santosh Shelke, 42, Marhal (Budruk) of Sinnar taluka also died that day, leaving behind parents, wife and children. He reportedly had a debt of Rs 1 lakh.
Vijay Jaganath Kadam of Hatnore, Dindori, a 40-year-old farmer ended his life on April 14 by hanging from the ceiling of his house. The family members were in shock and reported the matter a few days later, an official said.
By April 2018, 29 farmers had ended their lives in the district. Eighteen of the 25 cases of death by suicide have been decided, and the rest are being heard by the district committee, headed by district collector Suraj Mandhare.
"The district committee, with members from the home department, agriculture department, revenue and cooperative department will seek reports of the death from the concerned departments and discuss the same in a meeting to be held after the elections," an officer said.
Since 2016, the government stopped releasing data on farmer suicides. National Crime Records Bureau, operating under the Union ministry of home affairs, has been putting out data on suicide since the 1950s.
Separate reports of farmer suicideswere published from 1995. The first reports of farmer suicide were from Maharashtra, where cotton growers of Vidarbha were considered most at risk. Other states too soon started reporting such deaths.