Tell us why 89 farmers committed suicide in Marathwada: HC to govt

Chief Minister asks district collectors to fill vacant posts of medical officers within seven days

Taking cognisance of a news report that said 89 suicides were reported from the Marathwada region in January this year, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday took the Maharashtra government to task and sought details of what measures the administration has taken to tackle severe drought in the state.

In 2015, the division bench comprising Justices Naresh patil and A Sayed had taken suo motu cognisance of a news report that 32 farmers from Marathawada had committed suicide in September 2015 due to severe drought, and admitted a petition.

Referring to a fresh report that January 2016 alone saw 89 suicides in Marathawada, the bench on Wednesday sought more details from the government expressing concern that drinking water scarcity was affecting surgeries in hospitals. Government pleader Abhinandan Vagyani informed the court that the government had deployed water tankers in drought-affected districts in addition to macro measures taken by it.

“The court sought to know if water tankers were supplying water to schools and hospitals. It asked the government to seek detailed information from the Zilla Parishads, district collectors and the Aurangabad divisional commissioner and make a submission on the measures taken at the next hearing,” Vagyani said

. The court scheduled the next hearing for February 16.

In January, the government had informed the court that 1,000 farmers had committed suicide due to drought in 2015. The collectors of Akola, Osmanabad and Yavatmal informed the court that 193 suicides were reported in Akola, 164 in Osmanabad and 388 in Yavatmal. The court had asked the government to take long-term measures.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday conducted a review of the healthcare situation in 14 affected districts, and asked the district administration to fill a large number of vacancies for medical officers in these districts within seven days.

Pointing out that high medical expenditure was also a reasons for rise in suicides in these districts, Mr Fadnavis ordered the formation of a committee consisting of the district collector, the district civil surgeon and the district health officer to take decisions on filling the vacancies.

He also suggested changes in the Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayi Health Scheme, asking for 125 illnesses to be deleted from the scheme’s list while including those that directly affect the common man in these districts to ensure drought-affected people get access to medical care.