Between pyre and poverty
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Purna river, Buldhana District
Purna river used to be the source of irrigation and life for several districts- Buldhana, Jalgaon and Amravati. Now there is a dry river bed and a dam project over-flowing with scam. To support the natural calamity, these irrigation projects are in pipeline but the wait for completion of the projects is never ending and so is the corruption involved. These big budget projects are not going to help farmers; the land has always been naturally irrigated naturally. These projects cover only some percentage of land, if they ever complete. I visited project-affected from Jigaon Major Irrigation Project on Purna River in Buldhana district which has been I news for the protests and indefinite fast at the dam site. A few days back protestors set fire on the machines. Though more than 30,000 people of 47 villages will be directly affected by this project, The contractor claimed only single village has been rehabilitated as yet. Jigaon is among the many unnecessary dams planned in the state. The fact that tenders for the project worth Rs 1411 crores were floated against a budget of 60 crores indicates why such projects are planned in the first place.
Not so 'well'
Pimplegao, Buldhaha. The wells are dry and the tap water reaches once in every fifteen day which leads to shortage of clean drinking water. The situation of fatal diseases due to unclean water among children and elders s very normal.
Migration
Those who could afford and have courage migrate to nearest cities Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur. Those who are left behind only dream about being in big cities, they say we would die here, there is no work in our village and there is no hope for the future.
Losing hope
Cumulative effect of all these is evident on the psyche of the people of Vidarbha in general and farmers in particular. Farmers are hence prompted to turn to local moneylenders (sahukars) who charged them a much higher rate of interest. In fact moneylenders proved to be the most common and easy source of loans for the farmer (28.4%) followed by loans procured from relatives (22.93%) while only 3.94% turned to land development banks. Men don't share with their life partners what's about debt and financial crisis. Many widows didn't have a clue if there is a huge sum of debt taken by husband
Daily crisis
Women usually walk upto 3 kms to fetch water for the family to meet the bare minimal need of daily chores. Using toilets or taking a bathe is a luxury they cant afford. There is no water in schools for kids, and they often come back home for water or toilets.
Rope
In Amravati’s suicide-ridden villages, tales abound of the suffering inflicted on the widows of farmers who have killed themselves because of the agrarian crisis in the region. The whole farmer suicide issue is considered from the perspective of male member of family. But it is important to tell the stories of women who are left behind. So when a crisis-hit farmer kills himself, what happens to the widows and children? His widow is further pushed into the debt trap and multiplies her struggle to make ends meet.
Puppy
The little puppy in the dry-land of Vidrabha in scorching heat looking for water or may be food.
Sangeeta Ashok Saatpaise, 40, Tonglabad
Sangeeta, widow of Ashok is now living with her two sons Mangesh and Aaksh. Tonglabad is one of the villages where Rahul Gandhi visited during the election campaign in 'scorching Vidarbha heat' for Kisan Padyatra and levied the debt for 4 families. However the situation is still grimace as the younger son who had to drop his studies to support the family. Sangeeta explain it has been 2 months since they are eating only pulse and chapati everyday, she cant afford to buy vegetables. There is absolutely now work for her. Aakash who is also a patient of sickle-cell works as a laborer and goes through extreme pain and weakness everyday.
Sindhu Manik Thakur, 52, Village- Tonglabad
Manik Thakur one of most respected elder in the village took his life by hanging himself in the tree near the well. It was the same well for which he took the loans, hoping he would be able to keep his lands irrigated. But there was no electricity to the fields so that he could use the water by boring. The debt kept incurring and later he succumbed under the pressure to feed the family of 10. He did it all, what he could. Later in 2015, the electricity connection was made available but he was no more to see. The family is still struggling with left over debt and money they need to get the well plastered.
Bangles to the God
Taken at Sangeets's home, as her bangles were offered to God after husband's death
Chita Deepak Rao Khode, 50, Village- Vai
Chitra spent 3 lakh, 60 thousand on her daughter's wedding as dowry is still a common procession in the area. Deepak could never overcome from loss in agriculture and borrowed money for the wedding for her daughter and consumed poison
Savita Praveen Chaudhari, 30, Village Vai
She was only 17 when she got married and after spending a great married life her husband died 7 months ago. She is now looking forward to start a small business to take care of her two children
Seema Adkhikane, 13
Shankar Adhikane succumed under the debt taken from the private moneylenders on the high interest rates and now his son is following the same path. He had to drop his studies after death of his father and borrowed 30,000 last year which produced nothing but a few quintal of Soyabean to be consumed by family. He has to take more loans this year and hoping the nature dont fail him. Seema says she is worried about her brother and mother, she cant focus on anything.
Savita Jitender Dharni, 38, village -Jwada
Savita found Jitender hanging in the middle of the night. She had no clue if this could ever happen; in fact Jadish never talked to her about how much debt he had. It is another case of famer suicide in Vidarbha region which is now notoriously known as Suicide belt of India. I met the widows of Buldhana and Amravati district who all are stuck between a state that is apathetic to their plight and a society that is insensitive to their emotional needs; these widows often end up fighting several battles on their own for the survival of the family.
Tanu Dharni, 6
Tanu was wearing her best dress ; a green color frock and I could only wish to see the same greenery in their fields which are now lifeless . Her laughter is indeed the food for the poor family, specially her mother who is breathing and living for her children. I started to see my reflection in her, as my father died when I was of 4 years old and my mother took care of three children on her own.
Savita and roshni in evening prayers
The only man in the family is her 93 year old father, who started to stay with them after Jitnder’s suicide. She still longs for a male protection for her family to avoid all the mental harassment a widow faces in the society. After the husband’s death, these widows cannot forge new relationships with men
Yogini and Tanu
Yogini, eldest among all is the most sincere and a good dancer. With no internet or YouTube she simply waits for her favorite songs to play in TV and try to remember the steps. I ask Yogini that what she would like to be? I was expecting an obvious answer, after realizing her keen interest in dance. But in low voice she said whatever the destiny brings her way. The hopelessness in voice of a 12 year child soaked my heart in the sadness I have never known before and I could imagine how hard life has been to her lately. She explains that she has to walk 3 kms each side to reach school in this scorching heat of Vidarbha which has left everyone affected from agriculture, animals and humans.
Roshni
Savita often goes to temple to sing bhajan with her daughter Roshni. She engages herself in odd number of work to keep her busy and to grab any opportunity to get her some money or win hearts of people. She explains it has been almost 2 months; she has no work even as a laborer.
A minor migrant worker at damsite fetched a bucket of water from river to give a wash of her month old daughter after 5 days.
Shankar Adhikane, 40, Tonglabad
Shankar Adhikane succumed under the debt taken from the private moneylenders on the high interest rates and now his son is following the same path. He had to drop his studies after death of his father and borrowed 30,000 last year which produced nothing but a few quintal of Soyabean to be consumed by family. He has to take more loans this year and hoping the nature dont fail him.
Jitender Dharni, 40, died in 2014, village- Jwada
I often go to bed thinking of the various possibilities of a brighter tomorrow. But that night, sleeping on the floor in a village called Jwanta, in Amravati district of Vidarbha region; I was sleepless with moist eyes throughout the night. I had a good look on the fan hanging from the roof and then the picture of Jagdish on the wall. He must have hanged himself right above my head where I was lying that night. His wife Savita found him hanging in the middle of the night.
Girls ready for school
There is absolutely no source of money for her and she is now suffering from constant headaches due to depression. In such a situation, women also go through extreme emotional trauma which affects their mental health. She ended up paying 1300 rupees today for her medical checkup in such a crisis situation which would be equivalent to expenditure of their whole month. She has no idea how she would manage to afford the education for her girls and later their marriage. She is already crushed under the debt and for the new season of farming she needs more money. And if the rains are not good, there would more debt for her to pay.
Roshni, Tanu and Yogini
Savita is one of such widows who are now left with the responsibility of her three daughters- Yogini, Roshni and Tanu, also debt which his husband borrowed from private money lenders and banks for the farming. She received the compensation amount from the government of rupees 1 lakh, but only 30 thousand has been given to her immediately, while 70 thousand has been deposited for her children when they the eldest become 18. The money wasn’t enough for her to pay the debts and she ended up borrowing more money. And the lack of rainfall in last few years led to no production and pushed her into mental trauma.
Most of the family consume what they produce, the rainfalls are failing them everyday
Bare minimal
As she gets ready for the school after vacation
Cotton
Once Vidarbha was known for his cotton production or white gold as they say, but now Vidrabha is only known as suicide belt of India. on their own for the survival of the family.
In 1990s, India woke-up to a spate of suicide among farmers community. A suicide happens when a farmer has no hope remaining. When taking his life is easier than bearing all the pain he and his family are going through. When he has loses trust on the Government, on the system, on nature and his own hard work. He decides to end his struggle, when future seems dark or I should say dry. But when almost 7,000 farmers took their life in the span of three years in the region, it cannot be called suicides; it is rather a situation of severe crisis or a mass genocide which needs immediate attention
Marut Rao, 83, father of Suresh Rao Thakre, Sonora Village
Marut Rao, 83 is now the only bread-earner of family and almost spend all his time in the fields to take care of this family after the son died. He explains the old sustains the pressure, as they have seen more calamities in their life, the experience give them strength to survive but there is no pain compared to seeing your son dead. I wish I could talk to him one last time to change his mind.
Marut Rao, 83, father of Suresh Rao Thakre, Sonora Village
Vaishnavi with his grandfather Marut Rao, 83 near the dried well
Zero budget farming
The hope for these ladies is to start a small business of their own and take a chance at zero budget or natural farming with taking further loans on the bank.
