AHMEDABAD: Four farmers from Gujarat have died by suicide in the past 15 days as unseasonal rains wiped out crops and left behind unrelenting debt. Though the Gujarat government had only recently announced a Rs 10,000 crore loan relief package for farmers, the consecutive suicides reveal that the scheme has not reached those in need.
A 50-year-old farmer from Ardoi village in Kotdasangani taluka, Rajkot district consumed poison in his farm late Saturday night. Dilipbhai Virdiya was found dead by his family: "My father was tense for 15–20 days after the last rain. When we found him, it was too late," his son Utsav told local media.
Dilipbhai had taken loans to sow cumin, groundnut, and onion crops across 28 bighas of land, including 12 bighas of family land. "Everything went to waste. We lost around Rs 10 lakh," Utsav said.
"He borrowed money, bought seeds, and sowed everything with hope. But unseasonal rains crushed all hope," village sarpanch Narshi Gajera said.
Last year, Dilipbhai had taken loans for his daughter's marriage. His inability to recover from these financial losses led to his suicide, Gajera confirmed.
Barely 24 hours earlier, Danabhai Ramjibhai Jadav of Rahamiya village in Vinchiya taluka, Rajkot district ended his life by hanging himself at home.
His family claims he had cultivated groundnut and tur across 14 bighas, but when unexpected monsoon patterns destroyed his crops, depression and debt overwhelmed him.
Vinchia Police have taken possession of the body and initiated an investigation, but villagers said that this is another case of a life lost to unkept promises and unpredictable skies.
Ghafar Musa Unad of Revad village in Una taluka, Gir Somnath district, jumped into a well on November 3, after tying an electric wire around his waist.
He had sown groundnut on his nine-bigha land, but the unseasonal downpour turned the ready-to-harvest crop to waste.
His family revealed he had borrowed Rs two lakh from a cooperative society and was under mounting pressure to marry off two daughters.
"He couldn’t see a way out," a relative said.
In Bhanvad taluka of Dwarka district, 37-year-old Karsanbhai Vavnotia also succumbed to similar anguish. His groundnut seeds, purchased after taking a gold loan, were destroyed in the rains. The dual blow of loss and liability proved unbearable.
His family told local reporters that Karsanbhai had been 'mentally broken' since the rains and saw no escape from his financial misery.
These back-to-back deaths paint a chilling picture of Gujarat’s agrarian distress: a state that feeds millions now watching its own farmers wilt under the burden of debt.
Even as the Gujarat government claims its Rs 10,000-crore package will “alleviate” rural pain, the suicides reveal a gap between announcements and access.
Ground reports suggest many farmers haven’t received compensation or insurance payouts, leaving them at the mercy of moneylenders.
For families like the Virdiyas, Jadavs, and Unads, help came too late and hope, perhaps, not at all.
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