2 more farmers commit suicide

Two more farmers in the state have allegedly committed suicide in Burdwan and Malda in the past 48 hours. With this,total 19 farmers are reported to have committed suicide in the state following their failure to repay loans.

According to police,Tapas Majhi (38),a farmer from Chandipur village near Purbasthali in Burdwan,committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree,about six km from his house,on Saturday. His body has been sent for post-mortem. The deceased’s family claimed Majhi had borrowed money from private moneylenders for paddy and vegetable farming. He could not repay the loan after he failed to sell the produce,the deceased’s family claimed.

Another farmer from Harishchandrapur village at Malda’s Habibpur block,Haridas Ratna,committed suicide after he failed to repay the loan he had taken for buying a tractor,the police said.

Amid the reports of two more suicides by farmers in the state,Commerce and Industry minister Partha Chatterjee dismissed the allegations that peasants were committing suicide due to faulty state government policy. “We have enquired about the suicide of a farmer in Jalpaiguri and found that it was caused by family dispute,” he said.