In a bizarre incident, 25,000 farmers in Mathura have written to the President of India, seeking his permission to commit suicide on Independence Day. These are farmers who’ve lost their land to the construction of Gokul Barrage and are yet to receive the compensation promised to them.
Generally farmer suicides are attributed to deficient rainfall, mainly during Monsoon. Such cases mostly arise in Vidarbha region or East Uttar Pradesh. But here is one peculiar case where farmers are willing to adopt such grave measures mainly because the authorities in concern have failed to compensate them.
These farmers come from 11 villages in Mathura and were supposed to receive Rs. 800 crore from the government in exchange for 700 acres of their land. The farmers have now been protesting for 17 years.
Despite making several pleas and sending countless reminders to the state government, farmers of the district have not received their compensation. Not only this, earlier this year, some 40 farmers committed suicide as unseasonal rains in the region destroyed crops.
Although several assurances have been made, and the matter has also been taken up in the parliament, these farmers are yet to be compensated for their land. After running out of all feasible options, the farmers took to writing to the President of India stating that they want to commit suicide on the 69th Independence Day on August 15, 2015.
The district administration was quick to respond to the matter and has promised that the government will be releasing the funds shortly. The additional city magistrate also met the farmers and requested them to avoid taking extreme measures. As per authorities, it takes time to release funds as huge as Rs. 800 crores. It remains to be seen how much longer the farmers will have to wait in order to receive the funds.
(Featured Image Credit: amarujala.com)
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