A farmer from Hingoli in Maharashtra facing a debt of around Rs 20 lakh has written a letter to chief minister Eknath Shinde seeking a compensation for his crop losses and said if he does not get it, he will have no option but to commit suicide.

Gajanan Narayan Awchar, hailing from Sapatgaon in Sengaon taluka of Hingoli, in his letter written to the CM on July 23 said he has pomegranate plantation over a hectare of land.

The farmer claimed he has not been able to sell the produce in any market since the Covid-19 pandemic and the crop infections since two years have increased the losses to Rs 50 lakh.

In the letter submitted to the chief minister's secretariat on July 24, Awchar claimed he has no means to earning to sustain his family comprising five members as he has a debt of nearly Rs 5 lakh from a bank and Rs 15 lakh from another financial institution.

The farmer also claimed he has been receiving notices from the bank and facing mental harassment for not being able to repay the loan.

"The government should compensate, or else there is no way left for me but to commit suicide," he said in the letter.

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