Nagpur: An NGO working for the cause of farmers in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti, on Saturday claimed that a total of 301 bankrupt farmers have committed suicide.
The Samiti alleged that 902 farmers have taken the extreme step since June 2005 in six cotton-growing districts of the region - Wardha, Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Buldana and Washim.
A 32-year-old cotton grower, Prabhakar Rangrao Nilgilwar and a farmer Istari Vithoba Kalaskar, 50 - both from Yavatmal district of the region - ended their life on Saturday, pushing the farmers' suicide death toll to 301 since July 1.
The suicides come despite the fact that Prime Minister visited the area in June and announced a special aid package for them.
The Prime Minister accompanied by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had visited the affected families. Singh announced a financial package of Rs 3750 crore to bail out the farmers from the crisis.
Alleging that the state officials have not taken the agrarian crisis seriously, the NGO said that the sleuths are inviting spiritual leaders to the region for to help the farmers get rid of distress.
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