5 Farmers Die by Suicide in Bengal in 48 hours After Rain Destroys Crops

Kolkata: Five farmers allegedly died by suicide in different districts of south Bengal in the last two days after untimely rainfall destroyed their crops. All the farmers were heavily indebted.

Rainfall in the state during winter is uncommon, but low pressure and depression caused by Cyclone Michaung triggered intense rains last week, leading to extensive crop damage. The districts of Hooghly, Burdwan and Paschim Medinipur have been particularly affected by the untimely rainfall. 

On Saturday, a potato farmer named Bapi Ghosh (32), from Chandrakona’s (Paschim Medinipur) Lahergung Mouza, reportedly consumed poison after failing to drain out rainwater from his 5.5 bighas.

When the local Trinamool Congress MLA tried to pacify farmers gathered to console Ghosh’s wife Jhuma, they demanded government help and said that Ghosh wouldn’t have committed suicide if his crop was insured. Sensing their anger, the MLA left.  

Jhuma informed reporters that the couple had sown Pokhraj potato seeds on the leased land at the rate of Rs 7,000 per bigha after taking Rs 1,75,000 lakh loan from moneylenders at a high interest rate. The couple hoped to repay the loan expecting a good harvest.

Similarly, Jaideb Sarkar (71), from Arambagh (Hooghly), had taken a loan of Rs 2.5 lakh from the local Batanol Cooperative Society to sow paddy on his eight bighas. Sensing his depression, Sarkar’s nephew had taken him to his home. However, he ended his life by hanging from the ceiling fan on Sunday morning.

Another farmer Rup Sanatan Ghosh (45), whose potato field had been inundated, also hanged himself from a ceiling fan.

Tarun Palui, from Khanakul (Hoogly) also committed suicide after his paddy crop was destroyed.

According to the police, the farmers committed suicide due to “family feuds”. Surprisingly, the Mamata Banerjee government has claimed for several years that no farmer committed suicide. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2022 data showed no farmer suicides in 2021.

However, an RTI query revealed that 122 farmers died by suicide in Paschim Medinipur alone in 2021. In fact, more than 200 farmers, mostly in Burdwan, have committed suicide since 2011. In Burdwan, the state’s rice bowl, farmers are at a loss as their fields have been inundated.

Farmers, especially farming rented land, from north districts are also staring at a crisis due to the sudden rainfall.