Betul: A day after the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh presented its farmer-friendly Budget in the state assembly, pumping in thousands of crores into rural economy, another debt-ridden farmer ended his life in Betul district on Thursday.
Buried under a loan of Rs 3.5 lakh, the farmer was under a lot of pressure after a hailstorm destroyed his crop.
Maniram Salame, a native of Chicholi village under the limits of Sitadongri police station in Betul hanged himself at his home on Thursday morning.
Salame, his family said, had taken loans from a local money lender and a private finance company to grow crop on a rented piece of land.
However, after a severe bout of hailstorm and thundershowers hit the village recently, the crop was damaged beyond repair. It was then surveyed by government employees while politicians did not turn up despite promising compensation. The hapless Salame was left empty handed, his family alleged.
Anguished over his death, the locals protested demanding a monetary compensation for his family.
Having declined loan waiver to farmers earlier, Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Jayant Malaiya wrote off farm loans in the annual Budget that was presented in the assembly on Wednesday.
Later, speaking to the media, Malaiya alleged that loan waiver was not a demand that came from the farmers but was being raked up time and again by opposition Congress.
Meanwhile, like Salame, scores of farmers have committed suicide in last few years in Madhya Pradesh over crop loss, falling farm prices and mounting farm loans.
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