After Dhankar, CM in denial mode over farmer suicides

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 28

The BJP government in Haryana is in a denial mode over spurt in suicides and deaths of farmers due to crop failure following untimely rain and hailstorm.

Close on the heels of Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar denying any link between farmer deaths and crop damage, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today parried questions on the sudden spurt in the number of suicides due to large-scale damage to wheat and other crops caused by inclement weather.

“Deaths could be due to multiple factors. It is not easy to determine the exact causes of recent deaths,” Khattar said here today.

He was not forthcoming on farmer suicides. The CM, however, reiterated his government’s commitment to farmers’ welfare, including short-term measures such as rescheduling of agricultural loans for three years, zero per cent interest on the next crop loan and compensation to farmers by May 15.

Earlier, Dhankar expressed sentiments similar to the CM’s, saying: “Haryana ka kisan thadha hai, vo suicide nahi kar sakha (Haryana farmer is tough and he cannot commit suicide).”

Though the state government in a denial mode, Congress leader Kuldeep Sharma blamed the government’s “insensitive attitude” for the spurt in farmer suicides.

“Haryana farmers are sturdy people. But crop failure coupled with government’s insensitive attitude towards their plight have driven them to take the extreme step,” he alleged.

Untimely rain and hailstorm have played havoc with state’s rabi season crops, including wheat. The government, in its special girdawari report till April 22, assessed the crop damage to more than 13 lakh acres in the state. Crops on 3.17 lakh acres suffered damage between 76 per cent and 100 per cent, 1.92 lakh acres suffered damage between 51 per cent and 75 per cent; and 8.24 lakh acres between 26 per cent and 50 per cent.