Mansa cotton grower ends life
Friday, 18/09/2015
http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/
Mansa : Another cotton grower in the district today allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in his fields.
The victim, Charanjit Singh of Banawali village, was under debt. He had sown cotton on his 1 acre of land and another 6.5 acres of leased land. He had taken the land on lease for Rs40,000 per acre. He was depressed after he lost his crop to whitefly.
Earlier, Surat Singh of Achanak village in Mansa too committed suicide after he lost his cotton crop to whitefly. Eight farmer unions in Bathinda are already on protest path against the government demanding compensation for cotton growers.
Bikram Mofar, Mansa district Congress president, alleged that the government had failed to provide compensation to the farmers.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugraha) Mansa president Ram Singh Bhenibagha said more than 10 cotton farmers who faced complete loss to their crop had committed suicide in Bathinda and Mansa districts. “We are seeking Rs40,000 compensation for every affected farmer and Rs20,000 for the family of farm labourer who lost his employment due to crop damage. We have demanded a compensation of Rs10 lakh and a job to the kin of farm labourer Mandar Singh (45) who died on his way to join a protest in Bathinda from his village Killianwali in Muktsar,” he added.
