A 77-year-old debt-ridden farmer allegedly committed suicide at Khakurdi village in Nasik district of Maharashtra on Wednesday.
Supadu Bhika Pawar set himself ablaze after building his own pyre in the backyard of his house , sub-divisional magistrate Ajay More said.
Some locals saw smoke arising from behind his house and rushed in, and took him to the civil hospital which declared him dead. Pawar had taken a farm loan in the name of his wife and was finding it difficult to pay it off, family members said. Khakurdi police are conducting further probe.
According to estimates, 1,129 farmers committed suicide between January and May this year. Majority of these suicides are from Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra, where farmers practice dryland farming. Many of those who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods don’t want to give up their lands because there’s no viable alternative.
