The Hindu : National : 489 Gujarat farmers have committed suicide since 2003

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Sunday, Oct 14, 2007
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489 Gujarat farmers have committed suicide since 2003

Special Correspondent

Social activist gets information taking recourse to the Right to Information Act

“Government tried hard to suppress information”
Still information on six districts not available

NEW DELHI: The Gujarat government has admitted to 489 cases of farmer suicides across the State since 2003. Social activist Bharat Jhala got the information, taking recourse to the Right to Information Act.

Releasing the data here under the aegis of Act Now for Harmony and Democracy, in the presence of relatives of 17 farmers who committed suicide, Mr. Jhala said the information was gathered with difficulty and only on the intervention of the Central Information Commissioner.

Even now, according to him, information on six districts was not made available. “Still, the scene that has emerged from this information is very frightening. 489 suicides in four years among the farming community are indicative of an ominous trend in the agrarian sector in Gujarat,” he said at a press conference.

“Apathetic attitude”

Junagadh district topped the list with 85 suicides, followed by Rajkot (62), Jamnagar (50) and Mehsana (48). “More tragic has been the apathetic and irresponsible attitude of the State government, which has not only failed to compensate these marginal farmers but also tried hard to suppress this information.”

That there were many cases of suicide by farmers was admitted by Home Minister Amit Shah himself on the floor of the Assembly, Mr. Jhala pointed out.

“Coincidence”

Asked why the data were being released a day after the Assembly elections were announced, he said it was just a coincidence.

“The farmers had boarded the train for Delhi before the elections were announced to draw the attention of the Centre to their plight,” he said in a bid to dispel the presumption that the move was “politically motivated.”

Accidental deaths

Mr. Jhala also secured data on accidental deaths of farmers. He said “6,055 accidental deaths of farmers are a shockingly high figure and [this] needs to be looked into very seriously.”

Further, it was pointed out by one of the family members that Rajput farmers would rarely report a suicide for fear of loss of honour.

In the capital, the farmers also approached the National Human Rights Commission. Their demands included immediate release of Rs. 5 lakh and a meaningful package for the families of the dead, loan and interest waiver for below-subsistence level farmers for whom agriculture was the primary source of income, and immediate availability of credit, seeds, fertilizers, electricity and agricultural implements for rabi crop.

Conceding that the announcement of elections would delay provision of relief what with the model code in place, Mr. Jhala said the government could at least order an enquiry into the high incidence of suicide and accidental deaths.

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