Maharashtra farmer ends life due to crop loss after heavy rains

A 30-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in Marathwada region of Maharashtra on Friday, after his crop got washed away due to recent heavy rains, a police official said.

The incident occurred at Kader village in Omerga tehsil in the morning, he said.

"According to his relatives, Shivaji Jadhav hanged himself from a tree in the early hours," S K Shaikh of Omerga police station told PTI.

"A suicide note was recovered from the spot, which said that he was taking the extreme steps as his soybean crop got washed away due to heavy rains," he added.

The victim was unmarried, Shaikh said.

Heavy rains and floods last week claimed several lives in Pune, Aurangabad and Konkan divisions, which also left crops on lakhs of hectares damaged.

Osmanabad, Latur, Solpaur, Nanded and Pandharpur (in Solapur) were among the worst-affected places, where crops like soyabean, cotton and sugarcane were damaged on a large scale.