After last month’s floods in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region, farmer Laxman Babasaheb Pawar, 45, who lost all standing crop in his one and a half-acre farm, was so depressed that for the next few days, he hardly spoke to anyone in his family. On September 24, Laxman Pawar got up as usual and went to his ravaged farm. In the cowshed near his farm, he allegedly died by suicide, leaving behind his shell-shocked family, which includes his mother, wife and three sons. Laxman Pawar had cultivated sugarcane and onion, both of which provide high returns. He had invested Rs 80,000 in cultivating the crop. He had purchased two tractors after taking a loan from a private bank. Both tractors were washed away in the floodwater, and so were his livestock of two cows. The loss, his family said, proved too much for him to handle. When contacted, police Inspector Shriganesh Kangude said, “We have registered a suicide case. There is no foul play.” Family shares grief At the Matrewadi village, where the Pawar family lives in a ramshackle tin-roofed house, no one was in the mood to speak when The Indian Express team reached there. The family was clearly struggling to speak. After much prodding, Rohan Pawar, 19, the second son of the deceased farmer, spoke about the days following the floods. “Like other farmers who were affected by the floods, our farm also suffered damage. We lost our entire crop of onions and sugarcane. When the flood subsided a little, my father went to our field and found that nothing remained, neither crop, livestock, nor the two tractors that he had purchased after taking out a loan. He came home and was in shock after that,” recalled Rohan Pawar. Rohan Pawar said that whenever he was at home, he never saw his father utter a word. “He looked tense all the time,” the teenager said. Laxman Pawar’s wife Bhagyashree said, “My husband was tense after the flood damaged everything in the farm… He hardly used to speak. But whenever he spoke, I heard him muttering how he would return the loan and how he would run the family. Because whatever savings we had, he had invested in farming. He expected to get more than Rs 2 lakh once the crops are harvested.” Rohan Pawar said not just the crop damage, but the entire topsoil of the farm has been washed away. “Our farm is so damaged that we will not be able to cultivate a crop for a few years. If we have to start cultivating, we will have to get new soil, which is highly costly,” he said. The family, however, has got some relief. Former Rajya Sabha MP Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje donated Rs 1 lakh to the family. Shiv Sena leader and former minister Tanaji Sawant also extended financial assistance to the tune of Rs 3 lakh. “This money will not be sufficient to repay our loan and repair our damaged farm,” said Rohan Pawar. Farmer-activist Kiran Mane, who lives in Dharashiv, said, “Farmers not just need financial assistance, but they also need support and counselling. After the floods, farmers are in a state of shock and depression. After the good rains in June and July, they were expecting a good harvest. However, things have gone just the opposite. No one ever thought that the deluge would be so big and damaging.” More families affected In Matrewadi village, Mane said at least 20 farmers have lost crops on 50 acres of land. “The Pawar family is one of those who have been hit hard. Out of shock at how he will be able to sustain his family, Laxman Pawar took the extreme step. It can happen to anyone if you face such a huge loss. The situation of other farmer families is no different. All these people need strong governmental support. Announcing financial assistance is not just enough. The farmers will have to be guided on how to rebuild their lives,” Mane said. Nana Vishnu Mane, a resident of Matrewadgoveri and a relative of the Pawars, said, “I think it was a triple blow to Laxman Pawar. Firstly, he lost all his crops and investment, and secondly, his farm was damaged beyond repair by the floodwaters. Besides these, he had purchased two tractors on loan… Since he lost everything and stared at the prospect of returning the loan, he ended his life.” Nana Mane added, “To make matters worse, the recent rain has also damaged their house in the village. Now they have the task of rebuilding their home and hearth.” Another farmer-activist, Madhav Sahasrabuddhe, 75, from Karmala in Solapur district, said, “I also lost all my standing crop in two villages. I was expecting a good harvest in view of the good rains this year. But things have turned topsy-turvy. All my investment has been washed away in the floodwaters. Like me, hundreds of farming families have suffered the worst fate. The government assistance is yet to reach them. In the meantime, the government can appoint teams that can tour various flood-affected villages and counsel farmers and their families. It is time to calm down their nerves. This is because the panchnama of the damaged crop and the actual assistance that they will get will take time to reach them. This delay could force them to take some unnecessary steps.” Sahasrabuddhe further said, “The government should hold its next legislature session in the Marathwada region. The dates of the winter session can be brought forward and held in the next few days to send out a message of hope among the farming families.”
