Two debt-ridden onion farmers found dead in Maharashtra

Police on Sunday said two debt-ridden onion farmers from Maharashtra’s Nashik district committed suicide in the last two days, due to indebtedness and low rates commanded by the bulb in markets.

The deceased were identified as Tatyabhau Khairnar, 44, and Manoj Dhondage, 33. Both of them hailed from Baglan taluka in the north Maharashtra district.

Nashik accounts for 50 per cent of onion production in India. Farmers here have claimed that they are unable to fetch good returns for their produce due to a glut in production.

The official said the relatives of Mr. Khairnar said that he was unable to sell his 500 quintals of onions due to low rates. “He had a debt of ₹11 lakh,” one of his relatives said.

Mr. Dhondage had an outstanding loan of ₹21 lakh, his family said.

Suicide prevention helpline in Mumbai: AASRA: 022-27546669; Chennai: Sneha: 044-24640050; Delhi: Sanjivini: 011-40769002.