A source from the Maharashtra chief minister's office told AFP that seven suicides had been confirmed. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
The unusual weather struck parts of western Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, from late February and went on to badly damage crops.
A source from the Maharashtra chief minister's office told AFP that seven suicides had been confirmed, with more killed by the storm itself, but the opposition and activists said the real figure was much higher.
"There have been 32 (farmer) suicides so far across Maharashtra after the hailstorms started... We are getting hourly updates from our people," said Kishor Tiwari, president of farmers' advocacy group Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti.
He said the figure was expected to rise after more post-mortems were carried out.
India's main opposition group, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said on Tuesday that the number of farmer suicides had gone up to 37, demanding that the natural disaster be declared a "national calamity", the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.
"Since the hailstorm began on February 28, the entire rabi (winter-sown) crop on 1.6 million hectares of land in 17 districts has been destroyed," said senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde.
The region, which usually experiences the tropical rainy season from June to October, saw major damage to crops of fruits such as grape, mango, papaya, lime and watermelon, according to local reports.
Among those to commit suicide was debt-ridden Bapu Ramchandra Pawar, 62, who poisoned himself after his pomegranate farm was destroyed, police told PTI.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has released a statement promising to stand by victims of the storm who suffered "utter distress" from the damage of their crops, which were about to be harvested.
He urged those affected not to "take any steps that endanger their lives under such emotional stress".
Ahead India's general election which begins next month, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is due to visit the troubled area on Thursday.
He is expected to hold a public rally in Vidarbha, a region notorious for its high level of farmer suicides.
A delegation of ministers from Maharashtra met India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last Friday and demanded 800 million dollars in relief towards damage caused by the freak weather.
COMMENTS (12)
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@naeemhussain My uncle have 270 acres of Potato crop this year leave, using 2 Mahindra Tractors& Combine Harvester TDC -2000 Sonalika (for Wheat season) and yes he wear Dhoti Kurta as well. So do not generalize (I am sure you don't even know that how much big Pakistan is, forget about India)
@Nishant: What a weird, tone deaf objection. Prosperous farmers aren't the ones who commit suicide after a hailstorm. Folks like these do.
As usual, some brainless readers will attempt to start the fifth India-Pakistan war via ET comments section. This article points to the increasing need for crop insurance to protect the agrarian economy from weather events, water shortage or floods, and fire hazards, etc.We in Pakistan should look to these occurrences and take heed instead of jeering.
@ivehadit I dint deny your newspaper right to publish it. Nor Wish the problem go away. hailstorm ice in hot and humid weather is shocking to us too. Can only imagine the plight of farmer over sudden weather change. It's election season maharastra govt will compensate them.Just wanted to answer to vile comment made by naeem. No offense to genuine good people from across border.peace :)
32 farmers suicides...it runs into many thousands over a period of last many years due to the GM crops scandal. In the last decade more than 250,000 Indian farmers have killed themselves because of Monsanto’s costly seeds and pesticides.
http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-foods/indian-farmers-committing-suicide-monsanto-gm-crops/
must learn from pakistan's thar experience....LOL
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-20/an-indian-farmers-commit-suicide-after-bad-weather-destroys-win/5332890
abc news had the same story. to complainers: just denying a Pakistani newspaper a right to have a newsfeed wont make the problem go away.
@ naeemhussain by your logic your country has no heart. All fanatics committing crimes in other countries are roaming free and are declared national heroes of your country. And you expect our media to keep silent on Mumbai events? Dhoti Kurta culture is better than arab wannabe,fanatic export culture. ET won't have guts to publish this. Edit all you want ET truth won't change.
Every bad news from Pakistan is played up in Indian media much worst than Pakistan. India is a big country but has small heart. It is attitude which makes a country big not the size. India can never come out of Dhoti Kurta culture.@Hilarious:
What's with the picture, i understand that india does not have rich jageerdar farmers, but this picture is borderline offensive. There are prosperous farmers as well.