Maharashtra agricultural crisis: Farmer commits suicide in Nashik, agitation to continue

Mumbai:  As the farmers’ strike in Maharashtra entered the sixth day on Tuesday, a farmer in Yeola tehsil of Nashik district, where the agitation is intense, committed suicide, police said. [caption id=“attachment_3519815” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Farmers on strike in Maharashtra staging protest. PTI[/caption] Navnath Changdev Bhalerao, resident of Pimpri village in the district, ended his life by consuming a poisonous chemical, said a local police officer. As the agitation continued in Nashik district, police have prohibited assembly of people in public places under CrPC section 144 till 19 June. All 17 agriculture produce market committees (APMCs) and 20 sub-APMCs in the district remained closed today too, and onion auctions couldn’t take place, said Jaidutta Holkar, chairman of Lasalgaon APMC. On Monday, another farmer, Gorakh Savaliram Kokane, resident of Waki Budruk in Chandvad tehsil of Nashik district, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his house. The agitation continued in the district with several vehicles carrying vegetables to Mumbai stopped by protesters. Protesting farmers also locked down the office of talathi (village revenue officer) at Naitale in Nifad tehsil. Vegetable-carrying trucks heading for Mumbai faced protesters in the neighbouring Ahmednagar district too. A couple of trucks carrying vegetables and flowers were stopped late at night. Protesters punctured wheels of a milk tanker and in some places police used lathi-charge to disperse the mobs, said an officer. Farmers’ groups tried to lock down government offices in Manvat (Parbhani district), Satara, Nanded, Kolhapur and Sangli districts. Major dairies such as Gokul and Warna in Kolhapur district continued milk collection. These two dairies are major supplier of packaged milk to Mumbai.