6 hrs ago
Yavatmal Farmer Family Faces Three Suicides Amid Crop Losses
Nima Malekar has lost her husband and both of her sons.
Her family grew crops on a small farm in Yavatmal, but too much rain one year and too little rain in other years damaged their crops.
Her relatives say the family also struggled to get electricity to pump water from a borewell.
The family tried sowing crops three times this year, but the plants dried out when rain did not come for nearly two months.
Officials say some financial help has been approved for Nima.
Her family says some of the promised money has not arrived yet.
The day after her husband died, it rained, but the report says the rain did not continue.
Nima Malekar’s husband, Dnyaneshwar, died by suicide on July 22, after both their sons had died by suicide in 2021 and 2024.
Relatives link the deaths to crop losses, unreliable rainfall, debt pressures and difficulty obtaining electricity to pump borewell water.
The family owns five acres in Pimplapur, Yavatmal, where crops were damaged by excess rain in 2021 and lack of rain in 2024 and this year.
Yavatmal recorded 128 farmer suicides from January through June this year, according to official figures cited in the report.
Officials say financial assistance has been sanctioned for Nima, while her family says some payments have yet to begin and earlier aid went toward debts.
- Who
- Nima Malekar and her family, who lost her husband Dnyaneshwar and sons Nikhil and Tapaveen to suicide.
- What
- The family’s losses are linked by relatives to crop failures, rainfall problems and difficulty accessing electricity for borewell irrigation.
- Where
- Pimplapur village in Ralegaon, Yavatmal district, Maharashtra.
- When
- Nikhil died in March 2021, Tapaveen in October 2024, and Dnyaneshwar on July 22 of the year described in the report.
- Why
- Relatives cite repeated crop losses, inadequate or excessive rainfall, and difficulty securing electricity to run a borewell pump.
Family and relatives
Officials
Financial assistance
Family and relatives
The family says the monthly payment has not started and that the Rs 1 lakh received after Nikhil’s death went toward debts.
Officials
The tehsildar says Rs 1,500 monthly support has been sanctioned and more than Rs 1 lakh has been sanctioned for Dnyaneshwar’s family.
Solar-powered irrigation
Family and relatives
Harish says solar power may not run the family’s deep-borewell pump reliably, especially after sunlight fades, and the installation cost without subsidy is unaffordable.
Officials
The article reports that the government offered a solar-powered system in 2023; it does not provide an official response to the family’s concerns about its suitability or cost.
Key facts
- Family land
- Five acres, purchased by Dnyaneshwar in 2018.
- Deaths
- Nikhil died in March 2021, Tapaveen in October 2024, and Dnyaneshwar on July 22 of the year described.
- Reported crop conditions
- Excess rain damaged crops in 2021; the family recalls crop failure amid insufficient rain in 2024 and this year.
- Farmer suicides in Yavatmal
- 128 recorded from January to June this year, according to official figures cited in the article.
- Drought declaration
- Maharashtra declared drought in 265 of its 358 tehsils, according to the article.
- Assistance cited by officials
- Officials said Rs 20,000 was provided under the Rashtriya Kutumb Labh Yojana and more than Rs 1 lakh was sanctioned under farmer-suicide family aid.
- Monthly support
- Officials said Rs 1,500 a month was sanctioned for Nima; her family said payments had not yet started.
Quotes
Harish Choudhary
Nima Malekar’s nephew, discussing the family’s borewell and solar power.
“How can we run the pump on it? Solar starts dipping by around 4 pm (when the sun starts going down). It does not work at night.”
indianexpress.com
“We worked so hard. My children worked, their father toiled. But what was the use? There is nothing left.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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