Maha: Farmer sets sugarcane field on fire, commits suicide

A 32-year-old farmer in Maharashtra's Beed district set his ready-for-harvesting sugarcanes on fire on Wednesday and later committed suicide, fearing losses after his standing crop could not be taken to mill for crushing on time, a police official said.

The incident took place in the morning in Hingangaon village under Georai tehsil and a case was registered at the local police station, the official said.

''The farmer, Namdev Atmaram Jadhav (32), had two acres of land on which he had sown sugarcane. At around 11 am, the farmer came to his field and set the sugarcane crop ablaze. He then phoned his relative residing in a neighboring village and told him he is committing suicide as his sugarcanes have not been taken to mill for crushing,'' he said.

''After the call, Namdev Jadhav hanged himself to a neem tree in his field using a nylon rope. A case was registered at the Gevrai police station and further investigation was underway,'' the official said.

When contacted in Aurangabad, Kalidas Apet, a member of the farmer outfit Shetkari Sanghatana, said, ''The aerial distance between two sugar mills is too vast in Maharashtra (distance norms between sugar mills have to be followed while setting up new factories). As a result, not a single new sugar mill has been established in Maharashtra in the last few years.'' PTI COR AW RSY RSY

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)