Gujarat farmer commits suicide in Jamnagar

A 42-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide late Thursday night in Gujarat's Jamnagar district apparently over crop failure and cash crunch, police said.

Rana Gaagia (41) hanged himself from an electricity pole at Vavdi village of Lalpur taluka, police said. The deceased's relative, Somat, in his complaint to Lalpur police, claimed that Rana was facing a severe cash crunch and committed suicide due to the loss of his cotton crop following a poor monsoon. Assistant Superintendent of Police Sandip Chaudhary said that no suicide note had been found from the spot.

"Gaagia and his family own around 10 bighas of land. Since we are yet to take statements of his relatives, we can't say anything about the reasons which may have forced Gaagia to take the extreme step" Chaudhary said. This is the fourth suicide by a farmer in the last one month in Gujarat. On October 12, Viram Odedara (54), a farmer from Porbandar district, committed suicide apparently over crop failure and mounting debts. On October 7, 40-year-old Kalu Chauhan, a farmer from Botad district, allegedly committed suicide apparently over the fear of losing his crop in view of a weak monsoon.

On September 24, Anak Jebalia (35), a resident of Dhari taluka of Amreli district, had allegedly committed suicide due to the same reason. As per the latest figures released by the state government, Gujarat is staring at water scarcity as it had received just 76.72 per cent of the average rainfall this monsoon.

(With inputs from agencies.)