Relief pours in; too late, say kin

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 11

“Aj fer dil gareeb ik paanda hae vaasta, De ja meri aj kalam nu ik hor haadsa (Today this poor man, begs you once again for another tragedy, for the sake of his pen)”, read a Shiv Kumar Batalvi couplet written on a loosely hung paper lying in the corner of Jaswant’s bedroom.

A day after Jaswant committed suicide, his family will be in a position to repay the loans that he owed to bank and a moneylender following some financial help that poured in from the Aam Aadmi Party and some more expected from the government.

The remote Gajisalar village today saw a battery of officers, politicians and activists rushing through the dusty lanes of the village to console newly wedded Lakhwinder Kaur, who got married two hours after her father committed suicide on Sunday.

Some AAP and Congress leaders met the affected family. “I will make my children peons or rickshaw-pullers but never farmers,” she said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Senior AAP leaders —Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh and Sucha Singh Chottepur — and local leaders handed over a cheque of Rs 2 lakh to the family of Jaswant Singh, who committed suicide by setting his paddy stock on fire and later jumping into it on Sunday.

The visiting leaders promised support to the grieving relatives. “The government policy is anti-farmer and suicide after suicide in Punjab is a proof of this,” the AAP leaders said.

The recent suicide of Jaswant Singh has left the villagers baffled and with AAP leaders visiting the family and handing over a cheque today, the villagers are perturbed with the SAD leaders as no one from the government has till now come with any compensation. Incidentally, the village falls in the constituency of Cabinet Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra.

Under debt for the past over seven years due to repeated crop failures and under burden after marrying four daughters, Jaswant’s family now will get Rs 3 lakh from the state government as is the government policy following any farmer suicide.

His 24-year-old daughter Lakhwinder Kaur was still in a state of shock and inconsolable. “Throughout my growing up age, I have never seen a happy year in our family and when I got married yesterday, it turned out to be a major shocker for me as my father chose a painful way to end his life,” she said.

Deceased’s brother Nirmal Singh said, “The anti-farmer policies of the government are to be blamed for such incidents as farmers like his brother are unable to make ends meet despite owning four acres. Even in his death he has ensured that the family is finally able to repay the outstanding loan. There is no point in handing over money when the farmer is dead. Instead, the government should frame a policy.”

Patiala Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam today sent Samana SDM Amreshwar Singh to Jaswant’s house after Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal asked the local administration to send the farmer’s file to his office at the earliest.

“I will visit the family tomorrow and hand over a cheque of Rs 50,000 to them from the Red Cross funds as immediate relief,” said Roojam.

AAP to launch helpline for farmers

Sanjay also said they would launch a helpline for distressed farmers in the state. He said AAP was of the view that every possible help should be given to distressed farmers, but it would be useless to expect anything from a corrupt government