While the number of farmers who have committed suicide in Uttar Pradesh as a result of crop loss following unseasonal rains and hailstorms is yet to be officially declared, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has directed District Magistrates to visit the villages for information on the ‘exact’ reasons for the deaths and submit reports to the government at the earliest.
Mr. Yadav’s directives were issued on Friday in the wake of reports of farmers’ suicides.
The farmers of Bundelkhand region have borne the brunt of the freak weather, with reports claiming several instances of suicides there this month. The Chief Minister, in his reply on the State Budget in the Assembly on Thursday, acknowledged that farmers of Bundelkhand were the worst hit.
According to official sources, 31 districts of the State, including Mahoba, Chitrakoot, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Kanpur Dehat, Rae Bareli, Banda, Auraiya, Firozabad, Agra and Farrukhabad, have been hit by the unseasonal rains with Rs. 200 crore announced by the Chief Minister for relief and rehabilitation measures.
A total loss of about Rs. 742 crore has been assessed.
The State has also urged the Centre to send a team to assess the loss in the affected districts.
More rain forecast Meanwhile, there seems to be no respite from the unseasonal rains and hailstorms. Wheat, pulses and mustard crop in Bargadwa and Parsamalik villages is reported to have been destroyed in a hailstorm that hit Maharajganj district in eastern Uttar Pradesh on Friday.
