Hingoli: After the failure of monsoon for four years in a row, Taktoda village in Sengaon taluka is reeling under acute agricultural distress and unemployment. In despair, its residents have decided to put their village up for sale. They have put up notices to this effect, sending shock waves in the district.
Taktoda village has a population of around 3,000. Farming is their only source of livelihood. The region is lined with farmland that is parched and crops have failed year after year, for lack of water and the farmers are deep in debt.
Disheartened, the entire village has agreed that the only way out of their predicament is to put an end to their Village for sale in Hingoli lives and have sought permission of the authorities to do so.
Unable to return money borrowed from banks and with no employment prospects, the villagers have lost all hope. Crops like cotton and soyabean were grown here.
But it hasn't rained here in the last four years. This year too, the rains have played truant. It is close to the end of July and whatever was sown has wilted.
The farmers are reeling under heavy debt because of the strict policies of banks. In addition to bank loans, farmers have also borrowed from moneylenders.
To further compound their misery, they have not received settlement of their crop insurance claims for the last three years. As a last resort, frustrated villagers have come together to put up their village for sale and have asked district authorities to permit them to take their own lives.
What the residents want:
•Farm loan waiver
•Crop insurance
•Central administration for Hingoli
•Introduce MIDC type project in Hingoli
•Waiver of private loans
