Risks associated with cotton farming have been one of the main reasons for the high rate of suicides among farmers during the last few years. As per official statistics, 8,263 farmers have committed suicide in seven states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Gujarat) between 2003 and March 2007. In the district of Vidarbha alone, the Maharashtra government accepts a figure of 1920 from January '01 to August '06. The Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a farmers' movement, puts the toll at 782 from June '05 to Aug 06, with a suicide every eight hours. (DNA, 26th Aug, 06)
NDTV in it 19th May 2006 program on cotton farmers' plight, "Punjab Fields of Wrath" reported on the suicide of cotton farmers' in Punjab. Once prosperous farmers were reduced to laborers with almost 50% of their land mortgaged to money lenders and around 40% pledged to banks. Salinity problem was a major cause and the soil productivity was down due to cotton cultivation.
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