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21 stories of farmer distress in Maharashtra that will shock you

The prevailing drought situation in several parts of Maharashtra has increased farmer distress, with several agricultural families struggling even for basic subsistence. Here are some heart-wrenching stories.

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The prevailing drought situation in several parts of Maharashtra has increased farmer distress, with several agricultural families struggling even for basic subsistence. Here are some heart-wrenching stories.

1) Narayan Mundhe and his children are all physically challenged. His wife Janabai tends to the fields as a labourer and to the house as well. However, due to drought conditions she is sometimes unable to find work.

2) Panchfula Ghadage, a farmer from Beed, has four married daughters, and a son who is ill. She lost her husband to illness. She earns a living by cleaning utensils and working as a labourer in the fields. A sum of Rs 2-3 lakhs is needed for her son's treatment.

3) Gangubai Dandage, is a farmer from Aurangabad whose husband committed suicide in 2012. With a one acre plot of land to plow, Gangubai has to look after three children and her aged in-laws.

4) Nayaranrao Kubre is a farmer from Aurangabad. His wife died from a treatable illness which was left untreated because of poverty. He has a 7-year-old son and the drought has devastated the small family.

5) Yashoda Palve is a farmer from Aurangabad. Her father-in-law committed suicide. Her husband is also dead, and she attributes his death to stress. With a huge family to look after, Palve was forced to send her two daughters off to live at an orphanage.

6) Prahlad Ijare is a farmer from Hingoli. He owns four acres of non-irrigated land that is entirely dependent on the monsoons. He had to avail of a loan to plant soyabean three years ago. However, due to prevailing drought conditions, the crop has failed. What's worse, his land has become completely barren. Ijare has six dependent family members and his younger son has died in an accident.

7) Sumitra Bade of Jalna lost her husband a few years ago. Her children study in classes 10 and 12. She owns 3 acres of non-irrigated land which is now barren because of the drought. Thus, Sumitra was forced to work as a labourer, but work is not always available.

8) 75-year-old Gayabai Pandit from Jalna has been abandoned by her two sons. She owns a 2 acre plot of land which is cultivated by her sons. They provide a mere 1/3rd of the produce to Gayabai. She requires Rs 5000 a month for medical expenses.

9) Santaram Mane from Latur has been forced to beg for food following the drought, which rendered his land unfit for cultivation. His attempt to make a living selling bindis and combs in other villages failed to bring much income.

10) Kalusingh Bayas' children had scored 80% in their SSC examinations, but he is too poor to pay their college fees. Bayas also has taken loans on his land and for the education of his children. Now, the drought has rendered him bereft of income.

11) Saraswati Kadam's husband committed suicide due to pending loans and a dispute over the family's land. He left behind his wife, 3 children and aged parents. Drought conditions have now rendered her land uncultivable, taking away her sole source of income.

12) Uttam Pawar has a family of seven and a one acre plot of land, which did not bear crop this year. He then began to work as a farm labourer, but is unable to find work on a consistent basis.  

13) Balika Yedle is 60 years old. She lives in a broken down home with no door. Her husband has passed away. Her son holds a small job in a private firm in Renapur, but his income is enough only for himself, his wife and son.

14) Sudhakar Raymale has lost his ability to walk due to osteoporosis. His daughter is in Class 10 while his son in Class 7. His wife Chandrabhaga thus has to shoulder all the responsibility. However she is unable to find work even as a labourer due to drought conditions. The family subsists through food rations handed out by organisations working in the village from time to time.

15) Ramesh Shinde from Beed owns a 2.5 acre land and has five children. For the last three years, there has been no farm produce on his land due to continuing drought. Two of the children are yet to complete their education.​

16) Annarao Jadhav from Latur owns 3.5 acres of land. However, drought has rendered his land uncultivable. One of his sons is at engineering college, but he may have to drop out because his father can no longer pay the fees. Even working as a labourer is tough in the present times.   

17) Papitabai Shinde of Usmanabad became a widow at the age of 25 when her husband died in a drowning incident. The soyabean crop failed this year, and the family is so poor that she cannot feed even her only son.

18) Manik Shinde from Parbhani has a family of five. For the last 3 years, the family land has been barren due to drought. The family has no money either for his son's education or for the marriage of his daughter, for which he took a loan.

19) Chaturbhuj Jadhav from Latur owns a 3 acre plot of land., but drought means he must work as a labourer. His children had to abandon their education due to lack of money and are now working in a provision store. Even so, the resulting income is simply not enough to sustain the family.

20) Kalpana Kadam from Beed lost her husband at the age of 26. Lack of money for medicines meant his life could not be saved. She has two children and an aged mother-in-law. She owns one acre of land, but it has not yielded crop this year.

21) Sunandatai Mule, who is a farmer from Usmanabad, lost her husband 9 years ago. She has 3 children, of which one is a married daughter. However, Mule could not repay the loan she had taken for her daughter's wedding. Mule is now struggling to educate the two other children.

Desperate as the situation may be, you can help through dna's special campaign. Learn more here.

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