SIRSILA, India – Randhir Singh was already in debt when the coronavirus epidemic struck. Seeing his field of cotton next to the railway track, he walked in circles in despair. Early in May, he killed himself by falling on the same tracks.
“This was what scared us,” said Rashpal Singh, Singh’s 22-year-old son, in tears at his family’s home in Sirsivala, a small village in the northern Indian state of Punjab. “Lockdown killed my father.”
Months ago, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi implemented one of the toughest lockdowns in the world to stop the spread of coronavirus, Sreesanth’s livelihood was shattered. His one-acre farm produced enough cotton to cover his growing costs, and the lockdown also stripped him of his side job as a bus driver.
India now leads the world in the number of new coronavirus cases reported daily, leaving Brazil behind on Monday and the second highest in the world. In Punjab, where cases have increased, lockdown has been re-imposed. Economists say the measures are pushing millions of households into poverty and contributing to a long-running tragedy: farmer suicides.
Bankruptcy and debt, such as agriculture, have plagued Mr Singh for decades, but experts say the scourge has reached new levels of epidemics.
“This crisis is the formation of this government,” said Vikas Rawal, a professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University in the capital New Delhi. Mr Rawal, who has studied India’s agricultural woes for the past 25 years, said he believes thousands of people who live and work on farms have probably killed themselves in the past few months.
After India’s lockdown was extended for the third time, Sreesanth was convinced that he would never be free from debt with the closure of economics. “He kept saying, ‘It won’t open now,'” said his widow, Paramjit Kaur, wiping away tears. “Now, what will happen to us? Who will feed us?”
India has the highest suicide rate in the world. A total of 10,281 farmers and farm laborers across the country died by suicide in 2019, according to figures from the National Crime Records Bureau. Taking one’s own life is still a crime in India, and experts have said for years that the actual number is much higher because most people are afraid of the stigma of reporting.
According to Mr. Rawal, some recent examples of farmers have been reported in the Indian news media. “It’s hard to say exactly how many people died because there were so many deaths, and even the media couldn’t reach the hinterland because of the lockdown.”
A spokesman for the agriculture ministry in New Delhi declined to answer questions about farmer suicides. The Punjab chief minister’s office also declined to comment, citing a demand for a coronavirus crisis.
In the last five years, the number of farmer suicides in Punjab has increased more than 12 times, according to government figures. Local news reports about three to four farm deaths almost every day.
The lush green fields of the state that stretch all the way to the horizon of decades of ephemeral debt and land misuse. In the 1960s, the government introduced high yielding varieties of rice and wheat, which eventually made India self-sufficient in grain. But over the years, groundwater levels have plummeted.
Farmers struggling to save their crops dug deeper into its borewells. And to stop the growing pest attacks, they filled their fields with chemicals. The skyrocketing farming costs forced many farmers to take on more debt, and crop failures over the years eventually destroyed the livelihoods of rural households.
Twenty years ago, Nirmal Singh’s father drank pesticide bottles when he lost most of his land, with a huge debt of about two million rupees, or $ 26,700. Sreesanth’s sister then took her own life because the family could not afford the cost of her marriage.
In 2016, Shrifal’s son died after being eaten by whiteflies in his cotton fields and put on a train track. “He was only 23 years old,” Mr Singh said, pointing to a framed portrait of his son.
Mr. Singh’s farm is trapped under a congenital debt of 20,000 that he had accumulated over the years to continue his farm. But, he said, farming is more profitable than ever before. On a July afternoon, he walked gently through his parked farms. “Have you ever heard of a politician or businessman committing suicide?” He asked. “He is always a farmer or a laborer.”
In his own village, suicides happen every month, he said. “We are left with no tears,” he said. “It has turned our hearts to stone.”
Mr Singh says he is spending more money to run his farm these days as Mr Modi’s government has raised fuel prices amid an epidemic, citing the cost of the lockdown. Shri Modi added that Modi promised to give ‘good days’, but he has brought the worst days so far.
When the farmers of Punjab started sowing rice in the epidemic, they had no access to farm labor. They used to rush every summer to bring passengers traveling from North Bihar and Uttar Pradesh by buses, tractors – to arrange and pay for whatever they could find.
Outbreak of Corona virus>
Frequently Asked Questions
Updated September 4, 2020
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What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
- At first, the coronavirus seemed to be primarily a respiratory illness – many patients had fevers and colds, were weak and tired, and breathed a lot, although some did not show many symptoms. Those who looked sick had pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome and received supplemental oxygen. So far, doctors have identified many more symptoms and syndromes. In April, the CDC added to the list of signs of the onset of sore throats, fevers, colds and muscle aches. Gastrointestinal discomfort such as diarrhea and ause baka have also been observed. Another telling sign of infection is that a sudden, profound decrease in one’s sense of smell and taste can occur. In some cases, adolescents and young adults have developed painful red and purple lesions on their fingers and toes, called “covid toes” – but some other serious symptoms.
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Why is it safe to spend time outside together?
- The risk of outdoor gatherings is low because the wind spreads viral drops, and sunlight can kill some viruses. University of Leicester virologist Dr. Julian W. Tang said that open spaces prevent the virus from infecting and inhaling concentrated amounts, while infected people can breathe in confined spaces for longer periods of time. Julian W. Tang said.
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Why does it help to stand six feet away from the other?
- Coronavirus is mainly spread through your mouth and nasal drops, especially when you cough or sneeze. The CDC, one of the organizations using the measure, relies on a six-foot recommendation on its feet that when coughing or sneezing, most of the large drops that people emit will fall to the ground within six feet. But six feet has never been a magic number that guarantees complete protection. For example, sneezing can drop as much as six feet, according to a recent study. That’s the rule of thumb: You should be safe outside six feet, especially when the wind is blowing. But always keep the mask on whenever you think you are too far away.
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I have antibodies. Am I immune now?
- For now, that seems likely, at least for a few months. The second quarrel of Kovid-19 seems to have been a terrible reckoning of the people. But experts say that while these patients may have a course of pulling the infection, the virus takes slow weeks to months after initial exposure. People infected with the coronavirus usually produce immune molecules called antibodies, which are protective proteins made in response to infection. Harvard University immunologist Dr. “These antibodies can only last two to three months in the body, which is worrying, but they are completely normal once the acute infection subsides,” said Michael Meena. It is possible to get coronavirus again, but early infection will make it possible in a short time or make people sick a second time.
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What are my rights if I am worried about returning to work?
Fear and unemployment for almost three months due to the lockout. The workers demanded twice and three times their normal rates.
In the early days of the lockout, farmers were so compressed that they could only market a small portion of their produce. Unable to sell their crops, they set fire to their farms and dumped millions of dollars worth of fruits and vegetables on the roads or turned them into farms.
Lilasingh, a farmer from Akanwali village, feared his farm would be taken over and tried to borrow about હજાર 100 a few thousand rupees to help him stay afloat. He hanged himself in June for failing to secure a loan, as his 24-year-old son Gurpreet Singh said he dropped out of school so the family could save on tuition fees. He said, “Now we have to beg for money from someone or someone else.
“He just wanted to save his farm,” he added.
In early June, Shri Modi’s government used its executive power to push for major changes aimed at privatizing agriculture. It promised farmers more freedom to sell their produce outside the large agricultural markets imposed by state governments.
In August, thousands of farmers gathered to protest the new orders, Burning their copies in the street And arguing orders can reveal the monopoly of corporate buyers rather than empowering them.
Dozens of women and children marched in Nirmal Singh’s village on a recent afternoon in honor of an ancient ritual: the final rites of lingali made of dry twigs and wrapped in fine silk. Funerals are believed to force the gods to release the rain and ease the suffering on earth.
“Look, what have you done to our daughter” the women sing in unison, some grieving, stroking their breasts and throwing their hands in the air. It started raining after the ceremony. Mr. Singh said the ritual worked. Some of their suffering was relieved.
“Now, we hope Modi gets the message.”
If you have suicidal thoughts, call the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 (TALK) or go here Speaking f. Or resources For a list of additional resources.
