Although they were getting the free ration, there was no money to buy milk, vegetables, oil, and gas. The four daughters and a 6-month-old infant had been hungry for two days. But the farmer who was deep in debt committed suicide.

Jalaun— Be it the union or state governments, all of them are often heard lauding new schemes and measures for farmers. The ground reality, however, is shocking. In Jalaun, UP [Uttar Pradesh], a poor farmer caught between two years of losses in farming and the burden of debt thought it was better to commit suicide rather than to live. The farmer had four daughters and a 6-month-old baby boy. They had been preparing for the baby's Chhatthi ceremony on June 14. From the Rs.3,456 in his account, he spent Rs. 3,000 on printing and distributing cards for the event. Although they had been receiving quota ration from the government, there was no money left to buy gas, oil, vegetables, and pulses. He had already been feeling the burden of the agricultural loan he had taken, because of which he couldn't arrange to borrow money from anyone. Surrounded by all these reasons, he took this step.

What is the whole matter?

Dev Singh lived with his family in Kuthonda Buzurgvillage, district Jalaun, UP. His share of the family inheritance amounted to one room of a kutcha [mud] house. Dev Singh is survived by his wife Neetu, four daughters, Shivani (10), Anushka (7), Jhanvi (4), Paridhi (2), and an unweaned infant son Abhay (6 months). Dev Singh's older brother, Dayashankar, said, "Dev Singh was very hardworking. For about two years, he had been continuously suffering from losses in farming. So he had taken an agricultural loan of about 2.5 lakh rupees from relatives and other people in the village. Because of the losses in farming, to run his household he also worked as a laborer. But as he fell deeper into debt, he was becoming more and more mentally distressed and because of this, losing the willpower to work."

With only one bigha of land, crop loss had increased mental stress

Older brother Dayashankar also told us that Dev Singh owned one bigha of land. To provide for his family, he did sharecropping. He had also taken loans from moneylenders. With all this going on, he was mentally breaking down, and because of this, he took this extreme step.

Only Rs.546 left in bank account

Dev Singh had an account in the Jalaun branch of Aryavart Bank. Until May 18, Rs.3,546 was present in the account. On May 19, Dev Singh withdrew Rs.3,000, which he used for getting the cards printed for his son's Chhatthi ceremony. After this, with only Rs.546 rupees left in his account and no money in the house, the financial condition of the household grew worse day by day.

Cards for son's Chhatthion June 14 sent to relatives

Dev Singh's wife Neetu said that their six-month-old son's Chhatthi was on June 14. The cards had been sent to all the relatives, but with no food in the house, he was distressed. This was the reason he had taken such a step. "Two brothers had one and a half bighas of land, and it wasn't being possible to adequately provide for the family and the household," she said.

Lekhpal sent to conduct an investigation

Jalaun's Deputy Collector Rajesh Kumar Singh said that he had received information about the death of farmer Dev Singh. He has passed orders to send a Lekhpal to the village to investigate the matter. As soon as the Lekhpal submits their report, whatever is the appropriate compensation, it will be provided to the family.

[Story Translated By Lotika Singha]

यहां हिन्दी में भी पढ़ें: उत्तर प्रदेश: परिवार का पेट भरने तक का नही था पैसा, कर्ज में डूबे किसान ने की आत्महत्या