A farmer in Bihar reeling under severe debt due to failed crop committed suicide on Sunday. Thirty-five-year-old Gajendra Prasad Singh of Sherbukka village under Maner block in rural Patna consumed poison on Saturday night. In the morning when he did not wake up, his wife and villagers assumed he was unconscious and took him to the Danapur sub-divisional hospital where doctors declared him dead. An empty bottle of pesticide was found under his cot. He is the first farmer in Bihar to commit suicide.
The mukhiya of Singhara panchayat Akhilesh Singh confirming the incident said, "Gajendra was a landless farmer and had been doing farming as a share cropper on others' land by taking it on lease. Since he had no papers for the land, he could not get official assistance for the failed crop which added to his woes.”
Union Minister of State Ramkripal Singh Yadav, who represents Patliputra lok Sabha constituency under which Maner falls, expressed his shock over the suicide by the farmer. After meeting the bereaved family, he demanded Rs4 lakh compensation from the Bihar Government. "There are lakhs of farmers in Bihar whose crops were destroyed due to natural causes. The State should take a decision to compensate them," he said.
Gajendra who had taken over Rs two lakh as loan from local mahajan is survived by his wife Poonam Devi, daughter Rani (10) and son Anurag (6). Danapur SDO Arbind Kumar Verma confirmed receiving the report of suicide and said he has asked Maner circle officer Alka Sinha to conduct an enquiry and submit the report. He said he would personally go to the village to probe the incident.
Gajendra, a matric pass farmer, had very little land of his own so he had been engaged in share cropping on about ten bighas of land. In this season, he harvested paddy but could not sell his product to primary agriculture society. He also harvested masoor (pulse) and wheat but both the crops were completely destroyed due to bad weather. Family sources said Gajendra was deeply perturbed over loan debts.
Maner MlA Bhai Veerendra of RJD said he was shattered over this suicide. "I will approach the Bihar Government for adequate compensation to the poor family," said the MlA who is known for raising the issues of the farmers in the Assembly.