Authorities sent notices on Madhya Pradesh farmer suicides

Bhopal, Jan 12 (IANS) The Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission Wednesday served notices to collectors and superintendents of police of all districts of the state regarding rising farmer suicides, an official said.

‘Seeing the media reports, we have taken cognizance in this regard and asked superintendents of police and collectors to submit their reports within a fortnight,’ commission registrar D.K. Pauranik said.

The commission would also send teams to various suicide-prone districts and submit a report within 10 days.

Six farmers, four of them in Damoh district alone, have committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh since Dec 15. Damage to crops due to the intense cold and untimely heaby rains have been cited as the main reason for the farmers’ suicide.

Damoh happens to be state Agriculture Minister Ramkrishna Kusmaria’s native district.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Wednesday termed the deaths unfortunate and said he would make sure the benefits of crop insurance schemes reached cultivators.