People's Democracy

No Peasant Suicides in Tripura

IN an article reproduced from The Hindu in our column WHAT OTHERS SAY (January 9-15, 2012) P Sainath has underlined the fact of the continuing menace of peasant suicides, though some of the states have managed to reduce the problem during the 2003-2010 period. The article "Some States Fight the Trend but …" mentions Tripura as one of the few states that has managed to substantially check peasant suicides.

Khagen Das, CPI(M) MP from the state has pointed out in a letter that in the period mentioned above, there have been no peasant suicides that could be related to agrarian stress. He writes," We are to inform you that in Tripura not a single farmer’s suicide relating to crop failure or problem of selling the produce or facing loan burden  had taken place in the state during the period mentioned in the article. Though at present, farmers face problem in getting remunerative price for their produce, still no suicide case due to crisis in farming has been reported in the state till today."