Farmers Movement Archive

Back from site, Barnala man hangs himself

Sangrur, January 11Though majority of the farmers at the Delhi borders since November 2020 are in high spirits, some are resorting to ending life, hinting at the growing resentment.Yet another farmer allegedly ended life by suicide in Dhaula village of Barnala last night after returning from Delhi.Farmer consumes poison, criticalLudhiana, reportedly consumed some poisonous substance at the Singhu border on Monday. Volunteers of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha admitted him to a private hospital. His condition is stated to be critical.Nirmal Singh, 48, had been actively participating in the collection, transportation and distribution of ration from his village to the protest site with BKU (Dakaunda) members.“He had returned last evening from Delhi, but hanged himself at his house in Dhaula village. He was under debt and might have taken the extreme step after seeing no solution in sight to the protest,” said Darshan Singh Mehta, district vice-president, BKU (Dakaunda).Mehta said the Barnala administration had announced to extend financial help to Nirmal’s family in a day or two. “The government should waive his debt of Rs 2 lakh, give a government job to a member of his family and Rs 10 lakh compensation. We would not cremate his body till the demands are met,” he said.Raminder Singh Patiala, a member of Kirti Kisan Union, said suicides were isolated cases with the deceased having their individual reasons. “Farmers are aware of the fact that we are fighting a long battle,” he said. Earlier, a young farmer, Gurlabh Singh, ended his life after returning from Delhi. He had allegedly consumed some poisonous substance in Dayalpura Mirza village of Bathinda. Two days ago, Amrinder Singh, a farmer from Fatehgarh Sahib, too, died after consuming poison.

The Tribune

2021-01-12