Nanded farmer dies by suicide on eve of Dussehra, pleads for loan waiver in video
Shankar Kshirsagar of Borgaon posted a video appealing to the Collector before taking his life on October 19; the district collector has ordered a thorough inquiry.
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Shankar Abanrao Kshirsagar, a small farmer from Borgaon in Nanded district, took his own life on October 19, the eve of Dussehra. Before his death, he posted a video on social media in which he appealed to the Collector and the administration. The video shows his distress and raises questions about the loan waiver. The incident has drawn sharp reactions from the Opposition.
In the video, Kshirsagar said he was appealing to the Collector's office because, by his reckoning, three loan waivers had already been announced. He said the government claims the loan waiver has been done, but nothing happened even after he applied. He demanded that the Collector's office look into his case. He also said his daughter is studying medicine. He said he was taking his life as a farmer and asked that his appeal be taken seriously. Swearing by his children, he said an inquiry must be held.
With tears in his eyes, Kshirsagar said in the video, "Collector sahib, I appeal to you that the loan waiver must be given. The government announced loan waivers three times, but my name did not figure in even one of the waiver schemes. So, in despair, I am taking my life today."
Besides debt and crop losses, the burden of his children's education also weighed heavily on him. His daughter is studying medicine in Pune. Although the government has made big announcements of waiving education fees for students, his daughter's fees were not waived despite several applications.
Kshirsagar had one and a half acres of farmland, where he had sown soybean with great hope. This year, however, the rains failed for a long time and drought-like conditions developed. His entire crop withered and was ruined.
When the video spread rapidly on social media, relatives and police rushed to the farm. But Kshirsagar had already taken his life in his field before they arrived.
It has been said that his name was showing in the government's online database and he was likely to be included in the upcoming loan waiver list. Following this deeply tragic incident, Nanded District Collector Rahul Kardile has ordered a thorough inquiry into the matter.
