A day before the 10-day ‘Gaon Bandh’ called by farmers’ groups in Madhya Pradesh from June 1, a farmer committed suicide in Raisen district, the third such incident in a week.
The earlier two suicides were reported from the State’s tribal-dominated Betul district on Friday and Saturday.
The Raisen district police said Dilip Dhakad (50), a resident of Nayagaon Kala village, Bareli tehsil, consumed some pesticide in the intervening night of May 28-29. He was rushed to Bareli Community Health Centre and later to a hospital in the State capital where he died on May 29.
Loan burden
Officials said Dilip had taken a loan of ₹3 lakh. However, he received only ₹20,000, as ₹50,000 was deducted as loan repayment. “My father wanted to sell a piece of our farm to repay the debts. For this he has approached several potential buyers too, ” said Ramesh, Dilip's son.
The suicide is expected to have a huge impact on the ‘gaon bandh’ agitation from June 1 to 10. During the 10 days, villages will not supply agricultural produce to urban areas.
Fearing shortage of vegetables, milk and other farm produce during the agitation, people are stocking perishable items in Mandsaur, Neemuch, Indore, Ujjain, Ratlam, Shajapur, Bhopal, Sehore and several other districts.
Request to farmers
District officials are requesting the farmers to supply their produce to the cities as in absence of proper cold storage, their perishable items may rot.
According to Bhopal District Collector Sudam Khade, officials have been instructed to keep the mandis open on Sunday and communicate with the farmers to maintain supply.
Ahead of the stir, the Bhopal Milk Federation has geared up to meet any short supply. It has already stored 2,000 tonnes of milk powder and 2,200 tonnes of butter. The federation supplies 3.30 lakh litres of milk and other products daily to 11 districts surrounding Bhopal, said a senior official here.
"I have spoken to collectors of nearby districts to ensure milk supply in the coming 10 days," said Abhishek Singh, CEO, Bhopal Milk Federation.
During last year’s agitation, the farmers had dumped tonnes of their produce on the roads and drained several litres of milk, affecting the supply of perishable item to the urban areas. They were demanding appropriate price for their produce and loan waiver. The agitation took an ugly turn when six protesting farmers were shot dead by the police during violence in Mandsaur, the epicentre of the 2017 protests.
Precautionary measures
As this year’s agitation is on similar lines, the State government has taken several precautionary measures to deal with any untoward situation. According to Makrand Deuskar, IG (Intelligence), additional force has been deployed in 35 districts of the State in the wake of the farmers’ agitation. Nearly, 10,000 canes, chest guards and additional vehicles have also been sent to the districts.
The Mandsaur and Neemuch district administrations have identified troublemakers and asked them to sign a "peace bond" promising not to create any nuisance during the 10-day agitation. “Nearly 1,200 possible troublemakers have been told to sign the peace bond,” said Amit Singh, Superintendent of Police, Mandsaur district. .
