Gujarat witnesses five farmers' suicides in a month as unseasonal rains shatter Saurashtra region

AHMEDABAD: With 42-year-old farmer, Shailesh Devjibhai Savaliya, from Junagadh turning out to be the fifth farmer to die by suicide in just one month, Gujarats Saurashtra is reeling under a grim wave of agrarian despair. Unseasonal rains, failed crops, and crushing debt have triggered a chain of tragedies, exposing the widening cracks in the States rural crisis despite government relief claims. Savaliya's suicide tightens the noose of fear that already hangs heavy over the countryside. It comes as a chilling reminder that the agrarian crisis is no longer a distant concern but a relentless, daily reality. Savaliya, a father of two, survived with his ten-and-a-half bigha farmland. He had sown groundnut, onion and tur, hoping for a harvest that could help him repay debts and push his family through another year. Drowning in debt and terrified of the hunger and humiliation awaiting his family, following unseasonal rains, Savaliya walked to his field and consumed poison, an act that echoed the silent scream of thousands battling similar torment. His brother, Prafulbhai Devjibhai Savaliya, broke down talking about the pain behind the tragedy. Shaileshbhai was shattered. He hid much of his suffering, but we saw the stress killing him every day. He felt cornered, hopeless. Out of sheer despair, he went to the field and drank poison he believed there was no path ahead for him, he said. Visavadar police rushed to the spot, registering a case and launching an investigation based on family statements. Preliminary findings pointed to financial collapse caused by crop failure, a pattern now becoming terrifyingly repetitive across Gujarat. Shaileshbhais death has intensified panic among farmers already gasping under erratic weather and rising liabilities, triggering urgent questions about the states preparedness to confront the spiralling agrarian crisis. Saurashtra had recorded four farmer suicides, each driven by the driven by deadly combination of unseasonal rains, damaged crops and unforgiving debt. 1. Rajkot: 50-year-old Dilipbhai Virdiya (Ardoi village, Kotdasangani taluka). He consumed poison late Saturday night in his farmland. His son Utsav said, He was tense for 1520 days after the unseasonal rains. We lost around Rs 10 lakh. Dilipbhai had taken loans to sow cumin, onion and groundnut across 28 bighas, including land borrowed and land owned. Last years marriage expenses for his daughter had already pushed him into a tight spot. Unseasonal rains crushed his hope, village sarpanch Narshi Gajera confirmed. 2. Rajkot: Danabhai Ramjibhai Jadav (Rahamiya village, Vinchiya taluka) Danabhai died by hanging at home. His family said he had cultivated groundnut and tur on 14 bighas, but unexpected monsoon patterns left him buried under losses. Vinchiya Police have begun probing, but villagers say that his death was caused by broken promises and brutal weather. 3. Gir Somnath: Ghafar Musa Unad (Revad village, Una taluka) On November 3, he tied an electric wire around his waist and jumped into a well. His groundnut crop on nine bighas had rotted due to unseasonal rain. He had taken a Rs 2 lakh loan and the responsibility of marrying off two daughters. He saw no escape ahead, a relative said. 4. Dwarka: 37-year-old Karsanbhai Vavnotia (Bhanvad taluka) His seeds were bought after taking a gold loan, and the rains wiped out everything. Family members said he had been 'mentally broken' ever since the crop failed, unable to bear the blow of both debt and disappointment. These back-to-back deaths expose a harsh truth: Gujarats farmers are collapsing faster than relief can reach them. Even though the State recently announced a Rs 10,000-crore loan relief package, ground reports reveal a stark gap; many farmers havent received compensation, crop insurance or financial help, forcing them to depend on moneylenders and pushing them into despair.