Agrarian crisis spurs violence

New Delhi/Nagpur: As many as 74 incidents of violence have been reported due to agrarian crisis during January-June in 2015, a 100 per cent jump from the last year, due to protests against vexed Land bill, demand for higher MSP, short supply of farm inputs, as per the government data.

Maximum number of incidents of violence have been reported in Maharashtra at 17, followed by 12 in Haryana, 8 in Bihar, 7 in West Bengal, 6 in Punjab and 5 each in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and rest in other states.

One farmer in Gujarat lost his life, while nine others were injured at different places in these incidents of violence due to farm crisis in the first six months of this year, the data showed.

A total of 37 incidents of violence because of farm distress were reported during the corresponding period of 2014 in which one farmer had died in Punjab, while 82 others were injured in different places.

As many as 26 policemen were also injured in these violence-related incidents due to agrarian crisis.

The incidents of farm crisis have come up due to protest against the controversial Land acquisition Bill, which is yet to get Parliamentary approval, demands for higher support price etc.
 

105 suicides in Beed in August
Marathwada is reeling under the worst drought in recent years, pushing scores of locals to migrate to cities in search of livelihood, with Beed witnessing a steep rise in farmer suicides accounting for 105 cases in August itself.

The agrarian crisis in Marathwada has been compounded for the fourth successive year, forcing many of the 25 lakh people in drought-wrecked region, comprising 70 per cent of the area’s population, to cities like Mumbai in Western Maharashtra.

While Vidarbha reports the highest farmer suicides in the state, cases have been spiralling in Marathwada too which earlier faced a drought in 2012 and 2014. Crops had also been destroyed in the region which had been ravaged by hailstorms in 2013.