Mandabai, who stays with her son in a tin-shed, owns less than an acre of arid agricultural land in Ambad village of Jalna district. "The continuous failure of crops, unavailability of sustainable work and mounting debt killed my husband," she rued.
Drought and crop failure forced her husband (Pundalik) to end his life two years ago and since then life for 35-year-old Mandabai Bansode — a farmer from drought-affected Marathwada — has been a daily struggle.
Mandabai, who stays with her son in a tin-shed, owns less than an acre of arid agricultural land in Ambad village of Jalna district. "The continuous failure of crops, unavailability of sustainable work and mounting debt killed my husband," she rued.
Talking about her husband, Mandabai said he was a sensitive man with no bad habits. "He did not like anyone coming to our house asking for money. He was a proud farmer but our situation changed drastically due to the drought. Now, the farmer community is synonymous to poverty and debt-ridden. My husband is a victim of the consecutive drought situation in our region," she lamented.
She added: "I still remember the day when he took the extreme step. He went out for a stroll after dinner. When he did not return, my brother-in-law went out to look for him. After searching everywhere, he found my husband's body hanging on a tree. How could he leave his 33-year-old wife and children behind in lurch."
In tough times, Mandabai always kept encouraging her husband, who was depressed due to their poor financial condition. "On many occasions, I told him not to take any drastic measures. Suicide is a temporary solution to a permanent problem. Now he is no more but our problems have increased. I don't know how will we manage to repay a loan of Rs 2.5 lakh. Crops have been failing and there is no work at hand."
Her son Ganesh — who was in Mumbai for his D Ed (Diploma in Education) course — was called by Pundalik to Ambad on the same day he decided to end his life. "My son came in the morning. The father-son duo had a good chat in the day and had dinner together. Ganesh, too, was shocked to know about his father's death," she said.
The family had taken a loan for the wedding of their daughter and son's education. "We thought that once our son gets a job, the debt would be repaid. But things did not work out as we thought them to. We spent the money on his education, but he is still jobless. We approached a couple educational institutes where they demanded Rs15 lakh bribe to give a job," said Mandabai.
"When my husband and I used to work together, it was easy to run the house. Now, the entire responsibility is on my shoulders and it is proving to be a herculean task. The situation is so bad that farmers have stopped paying the daily wage of Rs 100 cash and instead are giving few kg of grains in return of daily work. Farmers are also finding it difficult to pay the wages. They are also shrouded under the recurring debt," she added.
Mandabai said her son cannot work in farms. "We got him educated thinking one day he will get a government job. He was a bright student. Now, he keeps complaining about why we got him educated. He is not skilled enough to work in farms, hence nobody wants to hire him. He wants to go a big city for work, but who will look after me here," she said.
Despite all the problems, the 35-year-old is still hopeful that their fate will change for good. "I hope one day everything will change and our life will be back on track. At least, we will be able to have two square meals on a daily basis," she concluded.
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