AHMEDABAD: Tragedy struck Revad village in Una, Gir Somnath in Gujarat, when 49-year-old farmer Ghafar Musa Unade ended his life after his entire groundnut crop was destroyed by unseasonal rains.
Also, struggling with a Rs 2 lakh debt and the burden of his two daughters' marriages, he took the extreme step by tying a 3-foot iron pole to his body before jumping into the well.
The shocking incident has sent ripples of grief and anger across the region, reigniting calls for urgent government intervention and compensation for rain-hit farmers.
The tragedy unfolded around 6 pm on November 3.
According to his family Members, Ghafar, a small farmer owning nine bighas of land, had staked everything on his groundnut crop this season. However, when nature turned hostile, torrential October rains flattened his fields, turning his ripe pods into rot.
The groundnuts sank, so did his hopes
Before the fatal plunge, he left his shirt, mobile phone, and boots neatly arranged near the well chamber, silent witnesses to his despair.
When Ghafar failed to return home, his daughter’s frantic call to her uncle sparked a desperate search. Under the dim light of farm bulbs, the family found his belongings near the well.
Fearing the worst, they pumped out water using a motor, only to discover his lifeless body anchored deep below.
The body was shifted to the Una Government Hospital for a postmortem as the police registered an accidental death case and began further investigation.
However, no suicide note was found.
According to family members' claims, financial stress and crop loss had pushed Ghafar into depression. He had borrowed Rs 2 lakh from a local society, and with two daughters recently engaged, mounting expenses weighed heavily on him.
For the past ten days, he had been restless, repeatedly voicing his helplessness.
His son, Ujjaf Unade, confirmed that their entire nine bighas of Mandvi groundnut crop was washed away.
“My father was broken, depressed. He talked of nothing but the ruined crop. There was no quarrel at home, only silence and worry,” he said.
Village sarpanch Bhikha Chandera described Ghafar as a humble and hardworking man who lost everything to nature’s cruelty.
“He was poor, debt-ridden, and helpless. He was in depression due to the loss of the crop in unseasonal rain. The government must compensate his family; they have no means left,” the sarpanch appealed with a voice filled with anger and grief.
Neighbours echo anguish
“Ghafarbhai’s Groundnut crop was gone, his hope was gone. The unseasonal rains killed both,” said Shedha resident S.N. Sama, who joined hundreds from nearby villages at the funeral.
The incident has shaken the entire Gujarat, already reeling under widespread crop damage reports.
As Gujarat reels from the twin blows of flooded fields and farmer suicides, villagers now demand that the government act swiftly, not just with surveys and figures, but with real relief before despair claims another life.
