Maharashtra: Farmer commits suicide, daughter determined to complete education

Kashibai Kadam is worried that she might not be able to finish her education. The 18-year-old's debt-ridden father Keshav (40) hanged himself in the court premises of Ardhapur six months ago. The family is just a statistic in the grim tale of parched Nanded region, hometown to former chief minister Ashok Chavan, whose wife Amita was elected from the Ardhapur constituency.

A land owner and labourer, Keshav had incurred a loan of nearly Rs 5 lakh, which he was unable to pay as the rain skipped his village Konda year after year. He left behind a family of six, including his elderly parents, who have nowhere to go.

"If I am educated and get a job, I will be able to support my family. Education is the only way we can change our life. My mother Sarasvati (35) is the sole earner in the family. She goes to other people's farms and gets Rs 100 a day as wage. How will we pay back our debt while running the household?" asks Kashibai, who recently passed Class XII with 60 per cent marks.

The Kadam family owns two acres of land, where they had sown soybean this year. The crop dried up waiting for rain. "We do not have a well or a tube-well. Due to the long dry spell, the tender plants dried up. Now we have to depend on my mother's income only," Kashibai laments.

She blames the requirements of a wedding ceremony and unavailability of bank loans at cheaper rates for so many farmers going under debt. "My father spent almost Rs 4 lakh on my elder sister's wedding. I have two more sisters. My mother spends sleepless nights worrying about our wedding expenses. I have a brother, who studies in Class VII. He is physically weak and falls sick quite often. So we do not ask him to work. But he is good in studies. All of us are good academically and my father was very proud of us. He used to say only education could change our family's future. We miss him and his advise a lot," she says.

A distant relative tells dna that Keshav also had a dispute with another relative over the ownership of 3.5 acres of land. "The matter was in court. Keshav was fed up making round after round for hearings. Besides, the borrowed loan amount was mounting. Then the crop failed for three years. He had no hope left," he says.

Kashibai adds that her father never shared the extent of his financial problems with the family. "The creditors started coming home to ask for money after he died. Only then we came to know about his loans."

Despite all difficulties, the gritty teen has taken admission in BSc, Computer Science. "Most of my classmates are worried about their studies. My sight is only fixed on whether my family has enough to eat or not," she says.

Fortunately for Kashibai, legislator Amita Chavan intervened to lessen her burden a bit. "For admission in first year, Rs 5,000 as admission fee and Rs 25,000 as hostel and food charges was required. I had no money, so we approached Amita madam. She understood our plight, waived off a total of Rs 30,000 and asked me to concentrate on studies," she says.

To help her family, Kashibai had submitted her college application under the Earn and Learn scheme, wherein students are given some allowance for work within the college premises. "We get Rs 25 per day for a few hours' work. I wish to take up some part-time job to ease my family's burden. My mother has to toil and beg for work. Besides my grandparents need medical attention. They worked hard all their lives. Now they suffer from joint pains and headaches. When I start earning, I want to take them to a big hospital in Aurangabad or Pune," she says.