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Government to check veracity of suicide data

PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry Government will check the veracity of data relating to the high rate of suicide by farmers in the Union Territory, Minister for Agriculture, Industries and Electricity V. Vaithilingam said here on Tuesday.

“I will certainly verify the data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau,” he said, addressing a press conference. It would take a week for the Government to ascertain the facts. Mr. Vaithilingam said as far as he knew, there was no chance of farmers committing suicide on account of debt, as the Government had agreed to clear the cooperative farm loan arrears. “I will check with the Police Department whether so much of suicides [834.9 per 100,000 population] had taken place,” he said.

In Puducherry, there was no reason for farmers, including marginal farmers, to commit suicide as even those who owned small landholdings were well-off because of the high land cost. Asked whether the trend indicated mass deprivation of farm workers rendered jobless with farmland being purchased by real estate units, he said the Union Territory experienced a shortage of farm workers.

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