NewZNew (Nagpur) : An activist Thursday blamed official apathy for the suicide by six farmers in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region. Four of them were from Yavatmal district and one each from Akola and Amravati districts, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti president Kishore Tiwari said. The deaths occurred Wednesday. “The farmers voted overwhelmingly for the BJP in both the Lok Sabha and assembly elections hoping their suffering will be mitigated,” Tiwari told.

He said the Bharatiya Janata Party promised during the election campaign to address issues such as debts, market prices of cotton and soyabean, and compensation for crop failures. But continuing official apathy has forced the farmers to take their lives, Tiwari said. The activist urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Vidarbha. He said the monsoon was delayed by two months this year and a dry spell after Sep 15 had hit the crops badly. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 3,146 distressed farmers committed suicide last year in Maharashtra — the highest number for any state.