Maharashtra: Residents of Beed district await drought relief; threaten 'mass suicide'

Residents of a village in drought-hit Marathwada's Beed district have threatened self-immolation to protest non-availability of drought relief measures.

A resolution was adopted at a meeting of the Gangamasla village gram sabha recently that the villagers will commit 'mass suicide' in front of the gram panchayat office on "Pola" day (bull-worshipping festival celebrated by farmers) if no help was forthcoming. The festival will be celebrated on September 12. A copy of the resolution has been sent to the district collector.

Gangamasla village, with a population of over 2000, has been facing acute agrarian crisis and drinking water shortage since the last few years, a villager told PTI. The village is located around 12 km from the Majalgaon dam.

The villagers are waiting for the Marathwada Grameen Bank to clear their new loan files and also to restructure their old crop loans. Incidentally, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was in Beed district today, as part of his three-day Marathwada visit to review drought situation in the region.